Of Death and Love
by rukia23
Summary: Noriko and Light had always been together, since they were kids they had been inseparable. He wants her to himself and wants to protect her, no matter what it takes. But how do the notebook, L and Misa change things for them. LightxOc, LxOc later.
1. Chapter 1 Prolouge

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note. I do however own Noriko, who you'll meet soon.

Hello everyone, whether you're a new reader or someone who is re-reading this. I just wanted to let everyone know that I have been in the process of re-writting/editing this. As of today, November 7, 2009, all 39 chapters of Of Death and Love have been edited and parts re-written. The plot hasn't changed at all, just the verbage.

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**Chapter 1**

**Noriko's Loss**

A light drizzle fell from the cloudy gray sky, covering the stones of the shadowed cemetery in a glossy mist. It looked to be about midday, although the darkened sky made it hard to tell for sure.

A small girl around ten years old stood apart from a group of adults that seemed to be talking in a somewhat unfriendly manner a few yards from her. Her bright green eyes were staring sadly at a stone that was no more than a foot in front of her.

"Daddy," she mumbled longingly, a tear spilling down her pale cheek.

The little girl wore a black dress that fell just below her knees and shiny black shoes. There was a black metal cross hanging on a dark chain around her thin neck, the gems on it sparkling in the mist. Her long dark auburn hair was pulled half up and secured with a silver clip that looked like a butterfly. There was a black umbrella in both of her small hands and as it rested on her shoulder, she idly twirled it around.

The ashes of her father who passed just a week before had moments ago been laid to rest under the stone that had his name carved into it. Next to his name, in red paint was another name, the name of her mother who was one of the adults in the group a few yards away.

'Stupid woman,' the little girl thought sourly as she glanced at her mom who was arguing with her grandmother, her father's mother.

"Noriko," a voice said behind her.

The girl turned quickly and saw a brown haired boy her age approaching her with his parents behind him.

"Light," she called out as she ran towards the young boy. "Mr and Mrs Yagami," she said with a bow before hugging the boy tightly.

"We're sorry about your father, Noriko, he really was a good man," Mr Yagami said.

The little girl sniffled as she released Light and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, determined to be strong and not cry in front of everyone.

"Thank you. I really miss him," Noriko replied, her little voice cracking as she fought back the tears.

"Noriko!"

Her head snapped in the direction the shout had come from to see a slender woman with brown hair and chestnut eyes walking towards her.

"Mother." The little girl's voice held a hatred and bitterness that sounded unnatural in one so young.

"What do you think you're doing, we're leaving. Now!" The woman snapped loudly as she grabbed Noriko's hand and pulled her away from the three people she hadn't even acknowledged.

"Noriko," Light said as he stepped forward before a hand was placed on his shoulder. He turned his young, confused face up to his father's.

"Just leave it be, Light. There's nothing we can do," the man said as he stared after the struggling girl who was being dragged forcefully away from the cemetery by her mother.

"Does she have to live with her mom? She doesn't treat Noriko very nice," Light's voice held the concern of a child for a hurt friend.

"She's still her mother, Light, and she loves Noriko," the woman who stood behind him said with a reassuring smile.

"No she doesn't," Light said quietly, "Not like I do."

Of course he didn't really know what love was yet, but his young heart did love Noriko. She was his best friend, and they had been inseparable since they were toddlers. Their fathers had grown up together and so they wanted their children to grow up together as well.

Noriko struggled to be released from the vice like grip on her hand.

"You're hurting me. Let me go," she complained angrily.

"Shut up. You're such a pest," her mother said back.

Izanami Mori, mother of Noriko Mori, and wife to the late Kiyoshi Mori was what many would call a beautiful woman. She was of average height, slender, with tan skin and the bone structure of a noble. Looks, however, could be deceiving and Noriko knew this all too well.

"_I_'m a pest," the girl muttered under her breath.

"Unless you want to be punished, I'd shut up," Izanami said while gripping Noriko's hand tighter causing the small girl to cry out in pain.

"Your father isn't around to treat you like a little princess anymore, so you'd better learn your place."

The girl was quiet as she was tossed towards a small car to collide with the passenger door roughly. With one last glance at the friend she had been pulled from, she opened the car door and got inside. The ride to her home was a quiet one as she stared sadly out the window at the coming storm.

Later that night the wind howled and the rain was crashing loudly against her window as the storm raged on. Noriko slept fitfully and tossed and turned in her bed as thunder and lighting lashed through the cold night outside of her bedroom window. A whimper escaped from her as she curled up into a ball and clutched a brown teddy bear under chin.

"Daddy, no, don't go, please."

She awoke with a start as tears began to pour from her green eyes, her father's eyes she had always been told. She sat up in her bed and rocked herself back and forth as she held her knees to her chest and cried softly.

She had been the apple of her father's eye. He had meant the world to her and now some freak car accident had claimed his life.

Kiyoshi Mori had been a good man, he loved his wife and daughter, and would do anything to give them the world. He had spoiled Noriko but also made sure she knew that she couldn't always get what she wanted just because she wanted it. He had taught her the difference between right and wrong, and that it was wrong to judge people without first knowing about their situation in life.

He had met and fallen in love with Izanami when they were teenagers still in high school. She had been a sweet and kind woman then. That changed after Noriko had been born. She suffered from post partem depression and never seemed to get over it. She became jealous of the attention her husband paid to their daughter, and slowly grew to hate the child she had given birth to, as well as the man she had once loved. She had no friends but alcohol and would usually drink herself into a state of unconsciousness every night.

"Your mom isn't feeling well, sweety," her father would say every time or "Mom loves you, she just doesn't know how to show her feelings."

It had been one excuse after another from him. Even as a child, Noriko wasn't naive, she knew the truth. Knew that her own mother despised her very existence and couldn't care less about what happened to her.

Noriko lay back down, huddled under her favorite lavender blanket and cried herself to sleep.

She woke the next morning with red, swollen eyes to the sound of her mother yelling her name.

"Noriko, dammit!" the woman yelled as she threw the bedroom door open, "I'm going to be late, and unless you want to walk to school hurry up and get ready."

"Yes mother," Noriko replied as she obediently slid out of bed and began to put on her school uniform. She had learned it was easier to just do as her mother told her to, instead of pushing her luck, her mother had no qualms about disciplining her.

She hurriedly dressed and grabbed her backpack from her desk, and sprinted to the kitchen. Izanami didn't say a word to her daughter as she walked out of the house and got into her car. Noriko followed and quietly slid into the car.

"You're going to have to walk home, I'll be working," Izanami said as Noriko was getting out of the car that was stopped in front of her school.

She nodded in reply, before shutting the door and turning towards the school buildings.

There was still 30 minutes before class started and not too many students had arrived yet. Not that it really mattered to her, her only real friend had already arrived and was waiting for her near the door to their classroom.

"Hi Noriko."

"Hello Light. How are you?" she asked.

"Fine. I guess. What about you?"

She shrugged half heartedly and tried her best to put on a smile but it just didn't work.

"You'll be fine. You still have me," Light said, smiling brightly at her.

"I'm glad. I don't know what I'd do with out you," she replied and smiled a real smile at him.

"I think we should get inside everyone's almost here," Light said as he looked around at all the students milling around the halls.

Noriko nodded and followed after Light receiving many cold and jealous stares from nearly every female student. Even at ten Light Yagami had admirers. She just rolled her at eyes at the girls and took her seat next to him as the bell for class to begin rang.

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	2. Chapter 2 Boredom

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note.

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**Chapter 2**

**Boredom**

Light sat at his desk with his cheek resting on his hand as he stared at an open text book. He was absently twirling his pencil in his other hand as he studied the book in front of him. A soft sigh escaped his lips as he wrote down another answer in a notebook, partially hidden under his book before he flipped the book closed just as a tapping noise to his right caught his attention.

He turned his head to see Noriko waving and smiling brightly at him from his small balcony. With a sigh and a quick eye roll, he got up to open the sliding door and let her in.

"I do have a door you know, and it's not on the second story," he said with a sigh to the girl who was jauntily walking into his room.

"Yeah, I know silly, but this is funner," she answered with a grin.

Light shook his head and sat back down at his desk as Noriko walked over to his bed and plunked herself down with an exaggerated sigh.

"What Noriko," Light asked, knowing that she wanted his attention. He had known her for all seventeen years of his life, and as a result he knew her well.

"Nothing. I just don't get to see you much anymore. You're always too busy with school and getting ready for the college entrance exams."

"Sorry, Nori," he replied absently. "How about I make it up to you?"

The teen girl's bright green eyes examined Light quizzically and a thin auburn brow arched upwards. "How?" She inquired curiously.

Light turned his desk chair so that he was facing her and smiled sweetly. "Well, there's a formal dance in May," he stated noncommittally with a small shrug.

Noriko raised an eyebrow again and waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she rolled her eyes at him. "That's next month. What about it?" she asked impatiently.

"I _could_ take you," he replied, folding his arms over his chest to watch her.

"Why would you do that, when you have so many other girls to choose from?" she asked sarcastically. "Besides, since when do either of us go to the school dances?"

"Well, I would do it because I wanted to. I don't care about the other girls, and it's our last year, so why not," he answered.

She sighed and looked up at his ceiling.

"And what makes you think I'll be able to go, Light? Izanami doesn't exactly give me much spending money, and I don't start getting the money from my inheritance until I turn eighteen next year. Another fourteen months."

Noriko had long since stopped calling her mother mother, it was a title she didn't feel the woman deserved nor wanted.

With a sigh, Light got up from his desk and walked over to Noriko who was still looking up at the ceiling. He sat down next to her and nudged her with his elbow. She turned her face to his and looked into his brown eyes.

"And what makes you think I plan on letting you pay for anything?" He asked as he smiled.

"I don't have a dress or anything you know?"

"If it means I get to see you in a dress, then I'll gladly buy you one," he teased, poking her playfully in the side.

She snorted loudly and rolled her eyes, waving his hand away. "Just what are you implying, Mr Yagami?"

He chuckled at her reaction. "Oh nothing... Seeing you in a dress might be pretty funny."

"Why?" she asked defensively.

"I don't think it would suit you. You're too tomboyish."

"That's enough out of you mister number one student," she retorted, pinching his arm with a smirk. "Just to prove you wrong, I'll go to the stupid dance with you."

"I know," he said as he got up and walked back to his desk.

"A little full of ourselves, aren't we?"

"No. I wasn't going to let you say no, I would have dragged you if I had to."

"Hn. Whatever. What time is it anyway? It's Friday, we have cram school tonight."

"We still have about twenty minutes before we have to go," he answered after casting a quick glance to his wrist watch and flicking on his television set.

"A woman was found dead today in a dumpster near a local bar..." A female voice said as it poured from the speakers.

"I'm pretty sure that's the fourth killing this week," Noriko said distastefully.

"It's the fifth. The world is rotting, it would be so much better without all those criminals," Light replied heatedly.

"Yeah. It really would be nice if they all just disappeared."

The two teens sat in silence as they watched the afternoon news.

"Oh, can I borrow a jacket?" Noriko asked suddenly as she got up from the bed and stretched her arms over her head. As she stretched, her shirt rose some and revealed some of her pale stomach and back.

Light furrowed his brow. "What's that?" he asked almost harshly.

Noriko gasped slightly at his tone, before realizing what he was looking at. Glancing down, she hurriedly pulled at her shirt to cover the dark bruise on her right hip.

"Noriko," he pressed. "Tell me. Now."

"I, um, I fell," she muttered as she nervously looked away from his penetrating gaze.

Light sighed. "You're a horrible liar. Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's nothing, I just sort of accidentally ran into the kitchen counter," she replied as she pushed a stray strand of her auburn hair out of her eyes.

"You and I both know it wasn't an accident," he uttered quietly. "Is that the worst of it this time?"

She nodded her head and bit her lip. "Yeah. It was my fault really. He came in drunk and I was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"For as smart as you are, you really are dumb sometimes. None of it's your fault, Noriko. It's your mothers, she married the guy."

She shrugged at his words.

It was true, her mother had married a drunk named Katsuo nearly two years ago. The man was a chauvinistic pig who liked to drink and push Noriko around. He hadn't done any serious damage but bruises were a regular sight on her pale skin. It angered Light that she just brushed them off, but he figured that as long as he wasn't trying other things and being extremely violent she wasn't going to complain much or let anyone help her.

"True," she sighed, "So can I borrow a jacket?"

"Yeah," he replied as she opened his closet and looked around. "The black one is next to the wall on the top shelf," he called to her.

"Ah, found it. Thanks," she smiled as she shrugged on the black sweater she always borrowed from him.

"Just keep it. It's not like I ever get to wear it."

She pouted slightly. "You don't have to let me borrow it if you don't want to."

"Didn't I just say to keep it," he said with a sigh and a shake of his brown haired head.

"Thanks, Light. You're the best," she beamed as she hugged him from behind.

He just sighed again.

"Light! It's time to get going, dear," Light's mom called from downstairs.

"Coming," he called back. "Ready, Noriko?"

"I'm always ready," she said with a cheesy grin as she turned towards the door, only to run into it. She absently rubbed her nose as Light chuckled at her.

"You're such a klutz."

"Whatever. Let's go," she mumbled as she left his room.

"Hi Mrs Yagami, Sayu," she chirped with a wave as she walked past the kitchen.

"Hello, Noriko. I really would prefer if you used the door next time," Mrs Yagami scolded lightly as she came out of the kitchen with her hands on her hips and gave Noriko a disapproving look.

"Of course. Sorry, Mrs Yagami."

"Bye mom," Light said to his mom as he walked towards Noriko who was waiting at the door.

"Are you going to be eating with us tomorrow night, Noriko?" Mrs Yagami asked.

"No, I've been bugging you too much. I really don't want to be a burden."

"Whatever," Light muttered, before calling over his shoulder, "Yes mom, she will."

"Alright, have fun."

Noriko silently followed Light out of his house and down the street. They had walked three blocks and still hadn't spoken.

"Are you just going to give me the silent treatment all night," Light asked in a bored voice.

"I don't want to burden your family more than I already have," she said softly.

"You aren't a burden, Noriko. Besides I know you never eat at home, I'm not blind, you've been losing weight again."

"Yeah well, I try not to be home as much as possible."

Light put an arm around her shoulders and she snuggled against him as she let out a tired breath. She was shorter than him by a few inches, the top of her head barely passing his shoulders.

"You know people are going to get the wrong idea about us," she pointed out, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Like you've ever cared what anyone thinks, and besides, it keeps those annoying love obsessed girls away," he replied.

She pinched his shoulder lightly and smirked. "So I'm just a tool to keep the fan girls away, huh?"

"They're fan girls now? And ...yeah."

Noriko tried to pull away so she could smack him, but he held her tightly and wouldn't give her the chance. He just laughed at her and the stubborn look on her face.

"I'll get you later," she mumbled as she huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I never asked, how did you do on the exams last week?" Light asked the indignant girl.

"I placed sixth in the class," she shrugged.

"That's good."

"Hopefully it's good enough to get the scholarships and grants I'm going to need if I plan on going to college," she replied thoughtfully. "Not all of us can be number one."

"You'll be fine," he said as he gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"I sure hope so. It's the only way I'll get out of that god forsaken place I call home."

"That isn't true."

"What's that supposed to mean, Light?"

"It means that I would make sure you got out of that place. You deserve so much better than that, Noriko," he almost sounded like he was scolding her as he spoke.

"So did my father," she murmured sadly.

"Speaking of which, should I pick up your classwork for you next Friday?"

"Yes, please. You can meet me there if you want, my dad always liked you."

By there, she meant the cemetery that held her fathers ashes and tombstone. The following Friday would mark the sixth anniversary of his death, and she had made a habit of skipping class on every anniversary. She would instead go and sit in front her father's stone and tell him about her life and things that had happened in the year that had past.

Light had known the first time she had been absent from class that that was were she was, and he made it a habit to pick up her work and sometimes meet her at the cemetery. If he didn't meet her there he would go home and wait for her. The last two years though he had met her at the cemetery with her school work and food, and they would sit and chat until sun down, before going their separate ways.

They reached the school a few minutes before the class was to start. Many students had already arrived and were milling around in their different groups gossiping and talking about their plans for the weekend. A group of girls that had been talking in the back of the room all stopped gossiping to look at Noriko who had just walked in with Light whose arm was still draped over her shoulder. One girl in particular gave her a nasty look before tossing her long black hair over her shoulder and returning to gossiping.

Noriko rolled her eyes as some of the girls eyed her and pointed at her while talking in hushed whispers in the corner.

"I'll see you after class, Light," she said as she took her seat that was in the front of the class.

"Ok." Light walked towards the back of the class and took his own seat near the window.

Noriko sighed in frustration as a shadow fell over her. "What do you want?" she asked harshly as she tilted her head up to look at the black haired girl standing over her.

"I want you to stay away from Light. It's not like the two of you are involved, I can never get near him whenever you're around. It's pathetic really, he's the cutest boy in school and he hangs out with trash like you."

"I'm the trash, Kimiko? You're one to talk. Is there anyone on the football team you haven't dated? And Light can't stand you which is why you can never get near him, snotty little brats aren't his type," Noriko shot back evenly.

"You stupid little who-"

There was a screeching noise as Noriko stood up and pushed her chair back, she set her palms on the desk as she leaned forward into the other girl's face. The whole class went quiet as they stared at Noriko and Kimiko.

"If you don't get the hell outta my face, I'll make sure the doctors won't be able to do anything else to that nose of yours," Noriko growled menacingly before smiling sweetly.

"You're trash, just like your mother," the other girl whispered harshly.

There was no holding back as Noriko raised her right hand and let it glide over Kimiko's cheek. A loud slapping sound echoed through the room as most of the students went silent and turned to see what was going on.

"Get the hell out of here Kimiko before I slap more than that smile off your disgusting face," Noriko ordered in a harsh undertone. Her face was red and her eyes held anger.

The black haired girl was speechless as she put a hand to her stinging cheek that now held a red imprint of Noriko's palm. "I'll get you for this Noriko," she muttered as she stalked past the girl to her stunned friends.

Light had seen the whole thing and had even heard the comment about Noriko being like her mother. He frowned at the black haired girl who had offended Noriko and shook his head before turning away from her as she walked to her friends. The girl hung her head angrily and quietly sat in her seat, staring at the back of Noriko's head as her friends fussed around her.

"So what was that all about anyway," Light later asked as they walked home after class.

"Nothing, Kimiko just thinks that she can get everything she wants. I proved her wrong."

"I see."

"Whatever. She's nothing," Noriko said as she yawned widely.

"You'll be over tomorrow for dinner, right?"

"Yes, Light, I will," she answered in a sigh.

"All right. Want me to walk you to the house?"

"No, it's just down the block, I'll be fine."

Noriko waved as she turned down the street to her house that was a few blocks from Light's, but in a less expensive, slightly more rundown area.

She stopped at the wooden fence in front of the small two story house and stared forlornly at it before slowly opening the gate and walking inside.

"Where have you been?"

Noriko sighed at her drunken mother who was sitting on the couch with Katsuo and some of his friends sitting on the floor or in chairs. The radio was playing loudly and some of the men eyed her as if she were a piece of meat.

"I had cram school. I'm going to bed."

She turned and headed up the stairs to her room. At the top of the stairs she turned right and went into the door on her left, the door on the right lead to the her bathroom. The hall to the left lead to her mother's and Katsuo's room.

She closed and locked her door before slumping down on her bed.

"It's ten. I might as well try to get some sleep," she said to herself tiredly.

She readied herself for bed and lied down to sleep. It was difficult to get to sleep with the music on downstairs, but she was rather used to it and managed to fall asleep after an hour of restlessness.

She awoke a few hours later to someone trying to open her door.

"What?" she called groggily.

There was no answer so she stayed in bed, the music was no longer playing and the house seemed pretty quiet.

"Three forty seven." she grumbled sleepily.

The flooring outside of her door squeaked and the handle turned again.

Noriko's eyes narrowed as she stared at the door.

'I lock it for a reason,' she thought sourly.

After a few minutes, she heard the footsteps of the person outside her door retreat down the hall.

She sat up in bed as she heard the door to the room that Katsuo and her mother shared open and close.

"What the hell..." she whispered, "What was he trying to get in here for?"

She frowned at the darkness and lied back down to sleep.

At 9 o'clock her alarm went off, she smacked it on to the floor grumpily as she pulled her blankets up over her head. Sometime later, her magenta cell phone that had been a gift from her grandmother began to ring and vibrate from where she had set it on her desk.

"What now," she grumbled as she reached for the offending object.

"Hello," she grumbled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"You aren't still asleep, are you?"

"Yes, I was, Light. Now what do you want?"

"Don't be such a grouch, Nori," he sighed. "It's almost eleven. Get ready and get over here, I'm bored."

"First I'm only good for keeping the snobby girls away, now I only serve to distract you from your boredom. Great," she muttered sarcastically.

"I love you too, Noriko. See you soon," he mocked cheerfully before hanging up on her.

"Stupid, Light," she mumbled as she set her phone back down on the desk and threw the blankets off herself.

She dragged herself over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt as well as her under things. She opened her door and crossed the hall to her bathroom. After a fifteen minute shower, she got dressed and brushed her hair. She decided to leave her hair down, but used a thick black head band that had a red scarf running through it to push it back out of her face, she tied the scarf at the back of her head and left some bangs out to frame her face.

Plopping down on her bed, she put on a pair of red and black striped slip on shoes. She also grabbed a necklace, it was a small black metal cross with a ruby in the middle and little diamonds on each end of the cross. It had been a gift from her father, the only time she didn't wear it was when she was showering or swimming, otherwise it always hung around her neck.

Sadly, she ran a finger over the cross, remembering her father's words when he had given it her. He had told to always wear it, it had been a family heirloom, and it had been passed down to all the first born daughters in the family. It would always protect her from harm he had said, and keep her name from prying eyes.

She never had understood what he meant 'keep her name from prying eyes.' She had asked him once, he had just smiled and ruffled her hair before saying he wasn't sure either, but that his ancestors had been superstitious.

With one more look at the cross, she tucked it under her black shirt and grabbed her phone and a small purse that held her wallet and what little money she had as well as the black sweater Light had given her. Closing her door behind her she walked down the stairs and headed for the door hoping to get out of the house unnoticed.

"Where are you going?"

Noriko stopped a few feet from the door to turn and see her mother standing in the doorway of the small kitchen.

"Why do you care, Izanami?" she inquired blandly.

"I don't," the woman replied bitterly. "You are my daughter though and I still have a say in what you do."

"No you don't. Now if you don't mind I have somewhere to be," Noriko said haughtily, turning towards the door.

"You're such an ungrateful little whore."

"I learned from the best, didn't I, _mother_," Noriko replied with a sneer as she turned back to the woman.

Izanami crossed the room and glared angrily at Noriko.

"You should be grateful I let you stay here. You're nothing but a waste of space and money," the woman spat at her.

"Like I said, I learned from the best," Noriko shot back angrily.

Izanami glared at her daughter before raising a hand and slapping her harshly across her right cheek.

Noriko hissed in pain as she felt the palm collide with her cheek. She turned her head back to the thin woman in front of her. Her eyes coldly met the angry brown eyes of Izanami who quickly turned away and walked back to the kitchen.

"Like I care what you do, you worthless brat," she muttered.

Noriko took in a deep breath before turning and exiting the house.

A block from Light's house, she pulled a small mirror out of her purse and inspected her cheek. The red mark had faded slightly but was beginning to leave a light black and blue bruise.

"Stupid woman," she muttered. "And why do I always have to bruise so easy?"

Noriko but her lip in thought before pulling her phone from her pocket and flipping it open. She pushed the button that had Light's number programmed into it and waited for two rings before he picked it up.

"Hey," she said cheerily. " So I'm just down the block. Meet me outside?"

She heard Light exhale before replying. "What happened, Noriko?"

"Nothing. It's just such a nice day."

"You're a terrible liar. Just come to the door already, I'll be down in a second."

"But," she heard the line click as he hung up. "Whatever."

She closed her phone and walked inside the gate to the Yagami house. Before she even reached the steps, the door opened and a little brown haired girl ran out to greet her.

"Is it true? Do we get to help you find a dress?"the girl asked happily.

"Uhhh. Yeah."

"Sayu leave her alone. She hasn't even gotten in the house yet," she heard Light call to her from inside.

Sayu pouted some before pouncing back inside. Sayu was Light's younger sister, and in someways she was like a little sister to Noriko too. Light's whole family was like family to her. They had known each other for years, and cared deeply for one another. Noriko followed after the excited girl and shut the door behind herself.

"Hey, Noriko," Light said from behind her.

With a sigh, she turned to face him.

A moment later a frown creased his handsome face as he walked over to her and looked more closely at her cheek. He gingerly tilted her chin to the side so he could get a good look at the damage.

"It's nothing. I pressed my luck with my dear mother," Noriko said as she shifted her eyes to the floor.

"I really wish you'd stop taking the blame for everything," he told her. "And let me help you."

"What could you do ,Light? It's not like I have anywhere to go. I know you'd say here, but you don't have the room, so let's just drop it for now, ok."

"Fine," he replied somewhat angrily before raising her head with his fingers and placing a quick kiss on her forehead.

"What was that for?" she asked, slightly taken aback by the unexpected gesture.

"That's not an answer, Light," she snapped in mild annoyance when he just shrugged and walked into his living room with her trailing behind him.

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Please review!


	3. Chapter 3 Cemeteries and Shopping

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note

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**Chapter 3**

**Cemeteries and Shopping**

The cemetery was quiet as Noriko sat cross legged in front of the stone that held her father's name and ashes. She was currently the only person in the large, cramped cemetery. There had been other people visiting other graves earlier in the day, but they had long since left the field of gray stones. For hours she had been the only person in the lonely cemetery.

It was a chilly day, the sky was cloudy and it was somewhat windy.

Noriko wore jeans and the black sweater she had gotten from Light and had her long auburn hair pulled into a ponytail. She sat gazing at the stone thinking of things that she hadn't already said now that she had recounted most of the last year.

Fresh orchids lay in front of her feet and a stick of incense burned in front of the stone. Smokey tendrils swirled about in the wind as it burned.

"I miss you dad. I wish you were still around. If you were, you'd get to see me in a dress for the dance in three weeks. Speaking of which, I'm going shopping with Mrs Yagami and Sayu next week to look for a dress. Should be interesting, me in a dress and all. I prefer jeans and tank tops or t-shirts. I'm such a plain girl, huh. Fashion just isn't really my thing, I'm too busy trying to get into To-Oh with Light. He's still the number one student in the nation. I ranked fifty-sixth in the nation, not too bad. Light wants to be a detective like his father and I, well, I want to study law, I think." Noriko sighed sadly as she gazed at the stone.

"I feel like I'm not making any sense. I'm probably not. I can't seem to keep my mind on one thing, I'm pretty tired," Noriko said as she looked down at the orchids at her feet. They were in a bouquet with some cherry blossom sticks, and even though it was quite simple she thought the design was beautiful.

"They balance each other quite well, don't you think, dad? Orchids are naturally beautiful, where the cherry blossoms are a bit plain, but when you put them together, they are both equally beautiful," she sighed again. "I'm mumbling about flowers now, and I have no idea what the heck I even mean. Sorry, you know me, always getting distracted and muttering nonsense."

She looked up into the sky with a frown as she thought of other things to say.

"Let's see.. I told you last year about Izanami marrying that scum bag Katsuo. I probably shouldn't talk like that, you'd probably scold me endlessly about respect and duty and what not. Sorry though dad, I have no respect for the woman. If you saw the bruises and heard the things I have to listen to from them I don't think you'd blame me. I grin and bare it though, it drives Light crazy seeing me brush everything off. But what choice do I have, I'm still only sixteen until June. I'm not capable of supporting myself yet. Light seems to think he'll be able to fix it all though. He really is turning out to be a great man. A little self centered at times, but I guess being the hottest guy in school goes to your head after awhile. And yes I just admitted out loud for the first time that my best friend is the hottest guy in school." She paused to take a few breaths before continuing on.

"Speaking of Light he should be here soon too. You always did like him. You used to tease us all the time about how we would bicker when we were kids. Saying we sounded like an old married couple. He would always get so mad saying he'd never marry me, and I would stubbornly agree.. We were such stubborn kids, huh? I think you liked the idea of me marrying Light though, you knew he would grow up to be a great man, like his own father... like you. It's never going to happen though."

"Why not?"

Noriko jumped at the sound of the voice and frowned at Light as he set his back pack and a bag with two boxed lunches down beside her.

"You scared me."

"Sorry. So what were you saying?" he asked as he sat down next to her.

"I was telling dad that even though I think he liked the prospect of me marrying you, it's never going to happen," she answered with a sigh.

"And why is that?"

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "Do you have plans I don't know of?"

"No. But how do you know we'll never get married?"

"What makes you think we will?"

Light shrugged, but never answered her question.

Noriko shook her head at him before turning her attention to the bag he carried.

"So what did you bring? I'm starving."

"Here you go." Light said as he handed her a boxed lunch of rice balls, some tofu and veggies.

"It smells great, thanks," Noriko said as she pulled off the lid and dug in.

"You know I'm a little worried about this whole dress thing." Noriko admitted as she leaned against Light after placing her finished food aside to dispose of later.

"Why?"

"I don't know really. I think it's more the dance I'm worried about. You sure you want to go?"

"You're implying that you don't think us going together is a good idea, right?"

"You're too damn smart for your own good sometimes, Light," Noriko replied with a playful smile. " Yes that is what I am implying."

"You've never cared what people thought before, why the sudden change of heart?"

Noriko shrugged, "I dunno."

"Stop worrying so much, it'll be fun."

"I hope so."

The next few hours were spent in conversation about things that happened over the year, and about the college entrance exams that were still a few months away.

"We have cram school in a half hour, are you going?" Light asked

Noriko sighed. "I guess. I've run out of things to talk about anyway," she answered. "Besides, I don't think dad would be thrilled about me missing school."

"Then lets get going," Light told her as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"Alright," she agreed as she too stood up and stretched her cramped legs. "Thanks for bringing me the lunch and my class work, Light, I really appreciate it," Noriko said as she gave Light a hug.

"It was nothing. I don't want you falling behind, besides someone's got to look after you," Light replied with a kind smile.

"Oh really. I need looking after, huh?"

"Most of the time," Light teased.

Noriko stuck her tongue out at him before playfully pinching his shoulder. He placed an arm over her shoulder and pulled her next to him.

"You're invading my personal bubble," she told him in an indignant huff.

"Deal with it, I like walking like his," he answered back as they walked down the street. "Besides you're the right height and make such a great armrest."

"Why you!" she cried as she jabbed an elbow into his side.

He laughed at the look of offense on her face as she stubbornly broke free from his grasp and walked with her hands folded over her chest.

"You're pretty cute when you're angry, Nori," he teased.

"I am not cute," she shouted before stopping and facing him looking annoyed. "I mean I, grrr."

Light continued to laugh at her as she growled in her frustration at having just put herself down.

"I'm not cute, cute is for puppies and cats," she mumbled.

Light patted her on the head, "There, there."

She sent a glare at him before a smile twitched at her lips and she started laughing.

"You're such a pain, Light."

He just smiled down at her as they continued to to walk to their class.

"Well if it isn't little Miss Noriko Mori."

Noriko groaned and rolled her eyes before putting on a bright smile and turning to face the mocking voice.

"And if it isn't Kimiko. What do you want?" Noriko inquired blankly as the smile left her face and she glared at the black haired girl standing before her.

"I see you still haven't caught the hint," Kimiko said arrogantly.

"The hint?"

"You're still hanging all over Light. I'll have you know I'll be asking him to the formal next month," Kimiko responded as she flicked her hair over her shoulder.

Noriko just smiled. "Are you now? Well good luck with that. Oh, and look, there he is now, why not go ask him?"

Kimiko eyed Noriko suspiciously for a moment before turning around and walking towards Light who had just sat down at his desk.

Noriko watched as Kimiko flirted with Light who was paying little attention to her, and mainly staring out the window to his left. She saw him sigh and shake his head. Kimiko seemed put off, but said something more, after he answered her she smiled politely before turning around in an angry huff.

"What's wrong Kimiko, did he say no?" Noriko asked as the black haired girl walked passed her.

Kimiko glared at her before walking out of the room. She returned seconds before the class started looking more composed, but still angry.

After class Noriko was waiting for Light outside when she was shoved from behind. She staggered as she dropped the bag she had slung over her shoulder, but remained standing. She whipped around when she heard snickers of laughter behind her.

"If you have a problem Kimiko, then say it to my face instead of being the coward you are and pushing me when I can't see you. Or are you scared?" Noriko asked harshly.

"Like I'd dirty my hands on the likes of you," Kimiko snorted.

"So you are scared of me?"

"I'm not scared of you, you little whore," Kimiko shot back.

"Really, then why not tell me what you think of me to my face instead of behind my back. Hell, hit me if you want. But I warn you, you'll only get one shot, make it worth it," Noriko answered with a teasing smile as she stepped closer to Kimiko.

Kimiko hesitated for a second before casting a quick glance at the three other girls around her. She then handed her books to another girl before taking a step closer to Noriko, they were now only inches apart.

"Well, Kimiko. Come on hit me I dare you to. Or are you too stupid to even know how to do that right?" Noriko taunted.

"You stupid... At least I don't have to follow Light around like a lost puppy just to try and be popular, which will never happen," Kimiko retorted.

"Is that so? I was under the impression that's why you follow him around like the whore you are. Or are you just jealous that he actually likes to spend time with me and he hates even being in the same room as you."

Kimiko turned red as she clenched her fists together at her sides. "I'm not jealous of you. If you and Light are such good friends then where is he, huh, did he leave without you?"

"No, actually, unlike the worthless whores you guys are, he and I plan on getting into college. So he's upstairs getting some more info on the exams for us."

"Stop calling me a whore. You're the whore," Kimiko snapped.

"Oh, so original. Can't you think of something new Kimiko? And I call you a whore because you are a whore, I just have to ask the foot ball team," Noriko replied with a wicked grin.

Kimiko clenched her jaw as she raised her right fist and slammed it into Noriko's cheek. On impact, Noriko's head was thrown to the side and she took one step back. It took her only a second to recover before looking at Kimiko and smirking.

"I hope it was worth it, I didn't even feel it," she said as she stepped towards Kimiko and threw her clenched right hand into the girl's stomach.

Kimiko's black hair fell over her face as she hunched over in pain before dropping to her knees. Her friends all ran to her as she held her stomach in her arms.

"Is that all it takes to get rid of you? That was disappointing Kimiko," Noriko said as she turned and picked up her bag and began walking away. She turned back a few steps away. "Next time you feel you have something to prove, I won't go so easy on you."

She began walking down the street towards her neighborhood a sense of happiness washing over her as she thought of how good it felt to hit the self proclaimed most popular girl in the school as her friends watched, and did nothing.

"Hey, Noriko," a voice called from behind her.

She turned around to see Light walking a few yards behind her.

"Hey, what's up?"

"You were supposed to wait for me and what's with the smile, it's kinda scary," Light asked as he saw the prideful smirk she wore.

"Oh, nothing. Kimiko punched me and I punched her back, in the stomach, but a lot harder, it was fun," Noriko replied giddily.

Light blinked at her for a moment not sure he had her correctly."Wait, what?"

"You heard me right," was her only reply.

"I was afraid of that," he mumbled.

"What?" Noriko asked defensively.

"Nothing, but how about using your words next time?"

"I tried, she seems a little slow though, I don't think she understood. She does now though," Noriko replied with another smile.

Light shook his head at his best friend before grabbing her under the chin and forcing her to look up in to his eyes.

Noriko winced slightly as he brushed the fingers of his other hand against her slightly bruised and swollen cheek.

"Didn't hurt, huh?" he asked with a smirk of his own.

"Oh, please. I've been hit a lot harder than that," she scoffed.

"I really don't like it when you joke about that. I don't find it to be funny," Light scolded.

"Sorry," she shrugged. "But it is true, funny or not."

"I know," he sighed as he put his arm around her shoulder and continued walking towards their homes.

* * *

"Oh, how about this one?"

Noriko looked over to Sayu who was holding a long blue dress with a very low neck line and no back.

"Um, no," Noriko responded with a shake of her head.

'You're so going to pay for this Light,' she thought sourly, it was two weeks before the dance and she was looking for a dress with Light's mother, Sachiko, and his sister Sayu. They had been shopping for hours now and not one dress had caught her eye.

"You're too picky Noriko," Sayu whined.

"Sorry,"she sighed.

"Let's try another store dears," Mrs Yagami said from behind Sayu with a reassuring smile to Noriko.

"Sure," Noriko answered and smiled half heartedly.

After two more stores and trying on a few dress that just didn't suit her, Noriko was beginning to think she'd never find a dress.

"We'll find you something Noriko. Don't worry honey."

"Thanks Mrs Yagami, but I think I've given up the hope of finding something I actually like."

"Let's try down here."

The three females turned down another street of shops and began looking through windows. A few stores down Noriko stopped and stared in a window of a small shop. She cocked her to the side as she eyed a black dress in the window. It was a strapless corset type top with little crystals along the top and sprinkled throughout the top, the skirt was long and somewhat puffy but not overly so.

"Let's try in here," she said thoughtfully.

They entered the store and Noriko quickly found a few dresses that struck her interest. After trying on 4 different dresses it was decided among the three of them which she would get. They then picked put a pair of heels that matched as well. Mrs Yagami paid for the dress and heels Noriko thanking her profusely.

"It's no problem Noriko, Light wanted you to be happy. I can't wait to see you two all dressed up," she responded with a smile.

"You're going to look so beautiful Noriko," Sayu chirped happily.

"I hope so."

"Well girls let's head home and get some dinner," said Mrs Yagami.

* * *

"That took awhile, but I see you found something," Light said as the three girls entered the house with the purchases.

"Yep." Noriko said with a smile.

"Well, can I see it?"

"Nope. It's a surprise Light," Sayu answered with her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, it's a surprise," Noriko replied with a grin.

"Women," Light teased.

"Like you know anything about women," Noriko snorted before playfully poking him in the shoulder.

"I know they're troublesome."

"I won't argue that one," Noriko said with a shrug.

"So you're going to wear a dress, this should be fun," Light said.

"Heels too," Noriko replied as they headed up the stairs to Light's room.

Two steps from the top she stumbled and fell landing forcefully on her right knee and using her left hand to catch herself.

"Maybe you should wear tennis shoes instead, I don't want you to lose a leg or something," Light said as she picked herself up.

"Oh, shut up, I never said it would be graceful," she huffed.

"You, graceful, I wouldn't have thought it possible."

"Yeah, heels will be fun. Keep in mind if I go down, I'm taking you with me." she said with a playful smirk.

"We'll see about that," Light replied challengingly.

* * *

Please review!


	4. Chapter 4 The Dance

I do not own Death Note so don't sue me please! I have no money anyways, so it would just be troublesome.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**The Dance**

The next two weeks were spent doing what seemed like endless piles of home work and non stop studying. Not to mention just trying to stay out of Izanami and Katsuo's way so as to avoid any unnecessary bruising before the dance. Which had actually gone really well, making Noriko a bit uneasy. It was just strange to her that neither of the two people had even spoken to her in almost three weeks. Not that it was bad, but it gave her a calm before the storm type of feeling.

The day of the school formal had finally arrived and Noriko was nervously getting ready with Mrs Yagami's help. It was a somewhat grueling process; having to do her hair, make up, getting the dress on and learning quickly that heels were not her friends. She was slowly getting used to them though, and could walk without stumbling over herself. Most of the time.

Noriko was standing in front of a full length mirror in Mrs Yagami's room. She frowned as she inspected herself in the mirror and turned this way and that to get a better look at herself.

"What's wrong dear? You look beautiful," Mrs Yagami said as she walked up next to her and smiled kindly.

"I just wish my dad could see it. I look so different. It feels kind of strange to be so dressed up," Noriko responded quietly.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Yes," Mrs Yagami called.

"It's almost six, we need to get going," Light answered from the other side of the door.

"We'll be right there, just wait downstairs."

"Alright."

Footsteps could be heard as Light walked down the hall and then retreated down the stairs.

"Ready?"

Noriko took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "Ready."

She followed behind Mrs Yagami and slowly made her way downstairs, stairs were a little hard to maneuver in heels. Light stood at the bottom of the stairs, but he was blocked slightly from view by his mother that was in front of her. As Noriko reached the last step, Mrs Yagami moved to give Light a good look at Noriko.

His jaw dropped slightly and he blinked at the sight before him. Noriko wore a crimson strapless dress that left her pale shoulders exposed. The top of the dress was a corset that had crystals lining the top, the back was laced with a black ribbon that tied at her lower back and was left to hang down the back of the dress. The matching skirt had crystals lining the hem that barely brushed the floor,and it was gathered slightly in the back to give it some volume. Her toes peeked out from under the dress as she held the skirt off the floor, she had on strappy heels that matched the color of the dress.

She wore some makeup, not much, just some mascara, light eyeshadow, lip gloss and a dusting of powder. Her hair was partially up, the sections along the side of her head had been pulled loosely back and pinned behind her ears. Sections had also been curled loosely and fell in ringlets over her shoulders, almost reaching the top of the dress. Her cross hung around her neck and was a perfect accessory to the ensemble.

"What?" Noriko asked somewhat impatiently as Light continued to stare at her.

"You look amazing, Noriko," he answered as he smiled his perfect sweet smile at her.

She let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and blushed slightly as Light held his hand out to her.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she teased.

'That's the understatement of the year. He looks great,' she thought.

He wore a three piece black tux and a tie that matched the color of her dress.

She had never considered herself beautiful. She didn't think she was ugly, just plain. She never wore make up, always dressed comfortably in jeans or shorts and a tank top or something. Her appearance wasn't really a concern to her. It didn't matter to her whether people found her attractive or not.

"Shall we?" Light asked, holding out a hand to her.

She nodded and smiled as she took his out stretched hand.

"How are we getting there again?" Noriko asked.

"My dad had to work, so one of the rookies, Matsuda I think, is going to drive us to the restaurant first, then to the dance."

"Where are we eating anyways?"

"It's a surprise," he teased with a twinkle in his brown eyes.

A honk was heard outside and Light led Noriko out of the house and to the waiting black car. The driver was a young man who seemed a little flustered, he jumped out of the car and opened the back door for her. He gawked slightly as she ducked to get in the door.

"Hey Matsuda, thanks a lot," Light said amiably to the man.

"Of course. Any thing for Chief Yagami," Matsuda answered hurriedly and with a nervous chuckle.

* * *

"You're joking?" Noriko asked as she stared out the window of the car. Her eyes were wide in disbelief as she glanced over to Light who was seated next to her.

"Nope."

"Light, this is like the most expensive restaurant in town, how the heck can you afford this?"

"I've been saving up and the owners owed my dad a favor, so we aren't exactly going to pay much. Would you stop gawking at the place already?" Light exited the car and walked around to help Noriko out.

She slowly stepped out of the car, careful not to step on the dress or fall over in the heels as she did so. Light held her hand as they walked in to the restaurant. They were seated immediately at a table for two near a window in a quiet corner.

"We aren't the only students here I see," she observed as they passed a few tables that were occupied by fellow students.

Light nodded as he smiled and waved at a few people he knew.

"Don't be stubborn. Order what ever you want," Light said as Noriko glanced at the menu with a frown.

"But-"

"No, buts Nori, just order anything," he said firmly.

"Fine, but I can't run very fast in heels," she grumbled.

Light just sighed and rolled his eyes.

The dinner was nice and peaceful, they sat quietly talking and eating. After finishing the meal the owner of the restaurant a tall, middle aged man with graying hair approached their table. He introduced himself to Noriko before whispering something to Light, then walking away.

Noriko raised an eyebrow at Light who smiled before standing and once again offering her his hand.

They left the restaurant and returned to the waiting car and Matsuda, who once again opened the car door for her as she approached.

"Thank you, Matsuda," she said politely.

"Of course," he answered with a slight blush that went unnoticed in the night.

The drive to the place the dance was being held took less than twenty minutes. It was a large park with a beautiful garden and scattered fountains. There were large buildings off to the side that were lit with strings of lights and some lanterns.

Finely dressed students milled around in theirs tuxes and expensive dresses. All making their way to the buildings where the dance was to be held.

As they too made their way towards the buildings, Noriko received jealous glares from the majority of the females that they passed. She unconsciously stepped closer to Light, who put his arm protectively around her waist.

"You're not the only one getting the evil glares," he pointed out quietly to her.

"Huh?" she asked, blinking in confusion at him.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not sharing you," he assured her, pulling her just a little closer to himself.

"Possessive much?" she teased, jabbing him softly with her elbow.

He turned his face to hers and looked her in the eyes before giving her a soft smile. She blinked a few times before turning away awkwardly.

They entered the building and found that the lower floor the dance was being held on was quite open and surrounded by many windows that gave a view of the moonlit gardens. A large dance floor was positioned in the center of the room, there was a stage with a band, and a dj was set up right next to it. There were tables lined around the room, decorated in white table clothes, beautiful center pieces of colorful calla lilies and white roses adorned each table. Strands of lights hung from the ceiling, resembling stars as they gave the room a soft glow.

"Wow, it's beautiful," Noriko breathed.

"Not as beautiful as you," Light said with a cheesy grin.

Noriko looked over at him with her eyebrows raised, they stared at each other for a few seconds before they both started laughing.

"That was the cheesiest line ever. You'd think the number one student in the nation could come up with something better than that," she teased.

"Yeah well, it sounded better in my head."

"Whatever, come on," she walked into the room that was already filling with students.

They were glued together all night either dancing or sitting and talking alone or with friends of Light's. A few guys had interrupted asking Noriko to dance but she would always politely decline. After the first few attempts, Light possessively put his hand on the small of her back and would glare at any male that came near her, effectively getting them to turn around and walk the other way. The girls left Light alone while Noriko was with him, but the second she had excused herself to the lady's room, they attacked.

Noriko walked out of the hall to see Light surrounded by a gaggle of giggling girls. He looked mildly annoyed as he tried to be polite and refuse the offers to dance. A smile crept on to her lips as she saw that Kimiko was one of the girls who was around him. She walked around the group of girls and came up behind Light. Smiling widely, she wrapped her arms around Light who tensed, not knowing who was behind him.

"It's me," she whispered and felt him relax as she placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Now if you _ladies_ will excuse us, my date and I were about to take a romantic stroll through the gardens," Noriko stated as she released Light and lightly grabbed his hand, leading him away from the stunned and angry girls.

"That was impressive, Nori," Light said with a smirk, following her out into the garden.

"Thanks. I couldn't leave you there to be eaten by the wolves now could I?"

"I suppose not. I would never have forgiven you," he replied in mock seriousness.

They wandered around in the garden for a few minutes before Noriko sat down on a bench across from a little pond that had some koi fish swimming in its shallow depths.

It was a warm night the moon was full and it cast a bright warm glow over the gardens. Stars twinkled in the clear sky like someone had spilled silver glitter in the dark curtains of the sky.

Noriko sighed as she looked up at the full moon. Its milky rays illuminating her face and giving her a glow that made her seem like she was lit from within and her green eyes seemed even more striking in the moons glow.

Light just stared at her, appreciating the way she looked so peaceful in the moonlight. She was his as far as he was concerned, and that moment made him all the more sure of how he felt for her.

"Nori?" he questioned quietly.

She lowered her head and her green eyes wandered to look at Light's face.

"Is something wrong, Light?" she asked when she noticed his serious expression.

"No, lets go back inside," he said as he held his hand out to help her up. He continued holding on to her hand after she had stood and they had begun walking back to the dance.

"Light, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Nori."

"Then why are you still holding my hand, I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh, sorry. I hadn't realized," he said as he quickly released her hand which she let fall back to her side.

Come by Namie Amuro was playing when they returned and Noriko pulled Light out to the dance floor.

"I love this song," she said as she put her hands around Light's neck.

She sung snippets of the song as they danced and swayed to the music. When the song ended they retreated to a table so that Noriko could rest her aching feet.

"I'd really like to make who ever invented these damn things suffer a very painful death," she muttered as she plopped down into a chair.

"It can't be that bad," Light said.

Noriko sent him a cold glare.

"Have you ever worn heels, Light?"

"Uh, no," he said.

'I should have kept my mouth shut,' he thought a little frightened by the glare Noriko was giving him.

"Then you wouldn't know, and unless you want to find out just how uncomfortable they are, I'd shut up."

"Right, sorry."

The dance was drawing to an end, Noriko and Light sat side by side in a table near the dance floor, his arm was draped over her shoulder as she rested her head on his arm.

"It's the last dance, come on," he said as he removed his arm from her shoulders, and stood up.

She groaned but didn't protest as she took his hand and walked to the dance floor. He held her by the waist as she put her arms around his neck. The song was slow and Light pulled her closer to him. She rested her head lightly on his shoulder as they swayed to the music.

"Noriko," he said softly.

"Hmm," she hummed as she raised her head to look into his eyes.

He leaned closer to her and his hot breath on her neck sent a chill up her spine.

"I love you, Nori, I always have."

She gasped at his words not knowing how to responded to his confession. She looked into his eyes and saw the emotion behind his words.

"I..I.."

"I'm sorry, Noriko, I-"she stopped him from saying anything else by gently placing a finger over his lips.

"Don't be sorry, Light," she murmured before removing her finger from his lips and leaning forward to place her lips onto them instead.

He was surprised, but held her tightly as they shared their first kiss. The kiss deepened and was filled with a passion that neither one had ever experienced.

They pulled apart from each other for air, Noriko blushing madly as Light smiled happily at her.

"Thank you, Light," she said softly as they walked hand in hand towards the waiting black car.

"For what?"

"Probably the best night of my life," she replied with a bright smile.

He brushed a kiss against her forehead. "No need to thank me."

After the dance, Noriko excused herself from Light and the group of his friends that were crowding around them. She walked into the womens bathroom and was glad that no one seemed to be in there at the time. There was a little sitting room of to the side with some plush red sofas and a few other chairs.

Noriko sat down on one of the sofas and lifted her skirt slightly to look at her feet. There was a small but painful blister forming on the back of her left foot.

"Ow," she mumbled as she gently removed the heels and massaged her sore feet.

She heard the soft swish of the door opening and the voices and giggles of a few girls as they entered the bathroom.

"Light's just using her," she heard a very familiar annoying voice say.

"Why would he do that, Kimiko? I mean, they have known each other their entire lives," another voice said.

"Please, she's throwing herself at him. Light probably just wants one thing from her," Kimiko replied arrogantly.

Noriko had heard enough, she stood up from the couch, her shoes dangling in her left hand as she rounded the corner that lead to the mirrors and bathroom.

"Well speak of the devil," Kimiko said as she saw Noriko in the mirror.

"Kimiko, what did I say about the next time you crossed me?" Noriko asked sagely.

The girl's face dropped into an angry frown.

"I take it you remember. It's funny that you can never say anything to anyone other than your little minions. Like I said before, if you have something to say to me, than say it to my face." Noriko challenged.

There was silence as the two girls glared at each other.

"I didn't think so," Noriko replied calmly but with a tint of coldness in her voice, "Here's a few pieces of information for you. Light asked me to this dance, I didn't even want to come, but he is my best friend and so I came for him. If he hadn't wanted to come, then he wouldn't have, even if you asked him he would have refused you. Unlike all the guys you know, Light isn't the type of person to use someone for his own benefit."

Noriko had opened the bathroom door and was half way through before turning back.

"Oh and he told me he loved me tonight, then we shared a very...passionate kiss," with that said she smiled at Kimiko who looked like she was going to have a heart attack and left.

"You're smiling that creepy smile again," Light said as they headed out to the waiting car.

"Oh, I just enjoy putting Kimiko in her place," Noriko replied. "You know, the gutter."

Light raised his eyebrows at her but didn't say anything.

They carefully got into the car and headed back to Light's house so that Noriko could change before going home. When they reached his house house it was 12:30 and they quietly made they're way through the house to Light's bedroom. Noriko grabbed her bag that had her jeans and shirt and headed to the bathroom. She changed quickly and made her way back to Light's room.

"I'm done," she whispered.

"Alright, Matsuda is going to give you a ride, do you want me to go with you?"

"Nah, I think I'll be fine with a police officer," Noriko answered quietly. "Oh, and what do I do with this," she said as she held up the crimson dress, " I don't want to take it home."

"Hang it in my closest for now I guess," he replied with a shrug.

"Ok, see you later, Light," she said as she turned to hug him before leaving.

"I'll walk you downstairs," he said as he grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs.

They stopped just inside the doorway.

"Light," Noriko asked hesitantly.

"Hmm."

"About earlier, I-"

Before any more words could leave her lips he leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

"I meant what I said," he whispered to her.

She nodded numbly, before turning and walking out of the house and to the black car waiting for her just outside.

Light watched her go with an arrogant smile.

'She's mine, and I'll find a way to protect her.' he thought.

* * *

Ha, that was a bit easier than I thought it was going to be. The next few chapters may be a little slow in being posted. I have chapter 5 done but 6 and so on are proving more difficult than expected But once I get over the transition into the story line it should be fine.

Anyways, thanks go out to anihana, dagger94, nightwing gurl, and princess de la luna. As well as to everyone else who has either alerted this story or favorited it. I appreciate it very much!


	5. Chapter 5 Ups and Downs

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Ups and Downs **

Noriko lay on her stomach, propped up on her elbow as she flipped absently through her history text book.

"You do know what this month is, right?" Noriko inquired nonchalantly.

"Yes, it's November," Light replied as he wrote in his notebook.

"Yes it is," Noriko said, she continued to flip blankly through her book.

Light sighed. "What are you getting at, Nori?"

"Hmmm, oh nothing," she replied as she looked up at him with a smile.

"You're a horrible liar. It's been six months I know and I already have something planned," Light said as he continued to his homework.

"Like what?"

"Curiosity killed the cat, Noriko."

"Yes, but satisfaction brought him back silly. So as long as I'm satisfied with your answer, you don't have to worry," she answered as she stood up and walked behind Light. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she lowered her face next to his. "So boyfriend, am I going to be satisfied," she breathed into his ear.

"That's distracting, Noriko," he replied with a shake of his brown haired head.

"I know," she said as she placed a quick kiss on his cheek before standing and going back to her book.

"You're a tease," he sighed as he put his pen down and turned to her.

"That wasn't teasing, it was distracting, you said so yourself. Besides it was fun."

"It's almost ten, do you want me to walk you home," he asked as he closed his notebook and stood up.

"Nah, I'll be fine," she answered as she began putting her things away.

She swung her bag over her right shoulder as Light walked over to open the door for her.

"So I'll see you tomorrow," she asked as they walked to his front door.

"Of course, it's Friday, so don't forget we have cram school."

"I know, I know. See you then."

"Hey," Light said sounding a bit offended as she hopped down his front steps.

"What?" Noriko asked as she turned to face him.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked seriously.

She blinked up at him, before smirking and walking back up the steps.

"I don't think so, but why don't you remind me," she answered.

"You're such a tease, Nori," he replied as he knelt down and pressed his lips to hers in a warm kiss.

"Maybe," she said as she pulled away from him and began walking home.

Noriko walked home and frowned as she pushed the little wooden gate to her house open. There was loud music and drunken laughter floating out of the house and into the quiet night. She opened the front door and stepped inside. She hurried towards the stairs hoping no one would notice her.

"Look who's home. It's that worthless daughter of mine," she heard Izanami slur from behind her.

She sighed but continued her trek up the stairs.

"Ahh!!" she cried as she felt something slam her against the wall at the top of the stairs.

"You should pay attention when your mother's talking to you," a rough male voice said as she wrinkled her nose at the smell of alcohol on his breath.

"Why should I? You don't. Now get off me, Katsuo," Noriko replied angrily.

"Maybe if you ask nicely," he answered as he leaned forward bringing his face closer to hers.

She pressed her body into the wall and brought her left knee up into Katsuo's crotch.

"You stupid bitch," he hissed as he released her and backed up.

She stepped around him and tried to bolt for her room, but before she could fully pass him he grabbed the back of her shirt and yanked her back towards him. Her face contorted in pain as she tried to keep her balance but wound up falling on her ankle before forcibly crashing to the floor.

Katsuo's face loomed above hers with a mocking sneer. She tried her best to not show any emotion and keep her face impassive.

"I'll get you back for this, just wait," he sneered as he raised his right hand and forcefully slapped her across the cheek.

Noriko bit her lip to keep herself from crying out in pain. She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing that he had hurt her.

She lay back on the carpeting her ankle throbbing and her cheek stinging. With a grunt, she forced herself up. She gingerly tried to put some of her weight on her right ankle which she had fallen on. She had to bite back the cry of pain that threatened to explode from her lips as her ankle protested against the pressure.

Putting as little pressure as possible on her injured foot she limped to her room. She shut and locked the door behind her. Leaning against the door she breathed a sigh of relief to be in her room and let herself slide down the door into a heap on her floor.

She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on her hands as she fought back the tears that threatened to pour from her eyes.

'I will not let him be the reason why I cry,' she thought angrily.

For a few minutes she just motionless in front of her door, head in her hands and hair covering her face.

Slowly, she lifted herself up off the floor. She tried putting weight on her right foot but it made her vision swim and she nearly fell over from the pain.

"Great," she muttered as she hobbled to her bed.

She raised the leg of her jeans to stare at her ankle that had already doubled in size and was beginning to turn black and blue.

"I don't think it's dislocated, but I'm not a doctor," she said as she gingerly touched her swollen ankle with a finger only to hiss as she felt red hot pain shoot up her leg.

"Well, I guess I'll leave it for now. I don't have a choice," she mumbled as she began undressing.

She grabbed a mirror she had on her desk and looked at her cheek that Katsuo's hand had left a bright red mark on.

'Just great,' she thought grumpily as she tossed aside the mirror and laid back in her bed.

* * *

"Ow, ow, ow," she whined when she awoke the following morning and tried to stand, only to fall back on to her bed with a disgruntled sigh.

She looked down at her ankle and cursed it for having to be so delicate.

'It's not like I fell all that hard,' she thought in a huff.

"This is bad. I can't walk on this ankle." she said sourly while she tried to think about what she was going to do.

'Guess I'm missing school today.'

Dressing took longer than she had expected as she hopped around her room on her good foot.

She grabbed her cell phone and punched a few numbers before raising it to her ear.

"Yes, hi, I need a cab please," she said when the phone was answered by a pleasant sounding woman.

She gave the woman her address and told her where she was going before hanging up. A moment later her phone rang.

"Light," she said as she read the caller I.D. "Sorry, but I'm not answering. You can yell later," she informed the phone.

"Let's see the cab should be here in five minutes, so I guess I should start hopping downstairs," she said to herself as she pushed her body up and began the hop to the front door and outside.

"Thank god," she mumbled when she reached the front of the house. "I didn't even fall."

A moment later the cab pulled up and she got in.

"You ok?" the cab driver asked. He was a short balding man with kind gray eyes.

"I am, thanks. I'm going to the clinic on the far side of town," she instructed.

He nodded, putting the car in gear and driving off.

Six hours later, she made her way carefully out of the clinic as she tried to balance herself on the crutches the doctor had given her to use while her ankle healed. It was wrapped in an ace bandage and a removable brace so she could remove it to shower and what not. He had also given her some pain killers for the pain.

She was glad to be out of the office. They had been asking too many questions, questions she didn't want to answer. It wasn't the first time that she had shown up at that specific clinic with an injury. They were doctors and trained medical professionals. She knew that sooner or later they would put two and two together and see through her lies. She just hoped that never happened, she didn't want to deal with police and questions and paperwork.

She checked her phone which she had turned off out of respect for the others at the clinic. There were two messages from Light, the first one he seemed worried, the second he seemed worried but more angry.

It was currently almost four in the afternoon. She had missed class and was now contemplating whether to go to cram school or not. She knew crutching her way there wasn't going to work, and she really didn't want to explain to Light why she was on crutches.

'No cram school it is,' she thought to herself.

With a sigh, she dialed a few numbers on her phone and arranged to have a cab pick her up and take her home.

An hour later the taxi turned on to her street but was halted from going any further by the three police cars in front of her house.

"Um, here is fine. I'll walk, well hobble, the rest of the way," she said as she hurriedly scrambled for the money she owed him and carefully got out of the vehicle.

Leaning on her crutches, she made her way towards her house but was stopped by a tall, thin, young police officer with black hair, blue eyes and a handsome face.

"Noriko Mori?" he inquired.

"Uh, yes," she answered cautiously.

"I need you to come with me please." he stated, turning towards a police car a few steps away.

She didn't move, just stared at his back, he turned around when he had opened the door to the back of his car.

"Why?" she asked.

He glanced at her bruised face then her bandaged leg.

"Ah, I see," she said with a frown.

"Sorry, Ms Mori, but we need you to answer some questions and unfortunately that means at the station. It's for your safety I assure you," the officer informed her.

"Ok, but you know my name, it only seems fair that I know yours before I get into the backseat of your car," she said with a small smile.

"Oh, sorry, I'm officer Yamanaka," he answered quickly.

"Nice to meet you officer Yamanaka," she replied as she crutched her way to the car.

He helped her in before shutting the door and climbing behind the wheel.

"I don't suppose Detective Yagami, knows about any of this?" she asked when the care pulled away from the house.

"I don't know ma'am."

Noriko frowned at the young man. "I'd rather you call me Noriko, ma'am makes me feel old."

The officer laughed at her. "Sorry it's a habit."

"Yeah well I don't like it," she replied stubbornly.

Her cell phone rang and she dug it out of her bag. She sighed when she saw it was Light.

"I have to ask that you refrain from any phone calls for the time being," officer Yamanaka said.

"Fine with me," she replied as she hit the ignore button on her phone and shoved it back in her purse.

"So someone from the clinic called I take it," Noriko asked, looking out the window when the car pulled into the parking area for the large building that held the police force.

"I'm not sure, it sounds that way though," the officer replied. He stepped out of the car and opened the door for her, holding her crutches while she tried to get out of the car.

"Whoa," she groaned, putting a hand to her, suddenly feeling extremely dizzy and nauseous.

"Are you alright, ma-"

Noriko shot the officer a glare.

"Uh, Noriko?"

"I think the pain killers the doc gave me are kicking in. Sorry," she said slightly embarrassed.

The officer smiled before walking back to her he grabbed her crutches and set them aside as he picked her up bridal style.

"Um, I don't think this is necessary officer Yamanaka," Noriko replied, reaching for her crutches.

"Call me Takehiko," the officer replied with a smile as he carried her into the building.

She was blushing profusely as people looked at her holding her crutches as Takehiko carried her through the building. They had to take the elevator to the third floor which was where some of the interrogation rooms were.

The doors slowly slid open to reveal a clean, bright hallway with many doors and other hallways leading to various offices or meeting rooms. As Takehiko stepped out of the elevator he turned to the right and began to walk down the hallway. There were two figures in the distance that she thought looked very familiar.

"I don't suppose we could go the other way could we?" she questioned innocently.

"Sorry," he answered with a rueful smile.

"Noriko," one of the figures called worriedly.

"Hi, Mr Yagami, how are you," she asked the frowning detective happily.

He eyed Noriko and the now somewhat red officer Yamanaka.

"Put her down in there," Mr Yagami ordered pointing to the room they were standing in front of.

"Hi, Matsuda," Noriko said cheerily as she was set down in a chair and her crutches were placed against the wall.

"Hi, Noriko," Matsuda replied with a hearty smile while scratching the back of his head.

"Thank you Takehiko," she called after the handsome officer when he began to retreat from the room.

"You're welcome, Noriko," he replied with a slight blush before practically running out of the room as he caught the glares he was getting from the two other men.

Mr Yagami sighed before taking a seat across from the table Noriko was seated at. The room was cold and gray, the table and chairs were metal, and there was a two way window behind Noriko.

"Noriko, what happened?" Mr Yagami asked.

"Nothing," she said with a shrug.

"You missed class, you're on crutches and you have a swollen and bruised cheek. That doesn't seem like nothing," Mr Yagami replied.

"Uh, would you believe me if I said I ran into a wall... again," she asked as she sat up straight in the metal chair.

"Noriko," Mr Yagami said in a tone that meant business.

"Ok, ok. So I went home there was a party downstairs. Loud music, lots of drunken idiots. I headed straight upstairs, but Izanami started talking trash behind me. I ignored her but Katsuo must have been coming out of the bedroom or something because I never saw him before I was stuck between him and the wall. He wouldn't let me go so I kneed him, I made a break for my room but he grabbed my shirt and slapped me, saying he'd get me back. When he grabbed me I fell and twisted my ankle. Actually I sprained it that's what the doctor said, he gave me painkillers," Noriko retold the events of the night before as if she was breaking down a shopping list, she finished with a big smile.

"I see," Mr Yagami replied with raised eyebrows.

"So Matsuda, how have you been?" Noriko asked the detective who had been silent.

"Uh, me, well, I've been good," he replied.

"Noriko don't change the subject."

"Sorry Mr Yagami," she replied as she bowed her head slightly.

"Light's been worried about you, you should call him. There will be another officer in in a few minutes," Mr Yagami said as he stood.

"What's going to happen," Noriko asked him seriously.

"I don't know. It depends. Katsuo has already been detained as has your mother. She'll probably be released since she didn't cause your injuries."

"You know that this will make things more complicated for me right?" she asked.

Mr Yagami sighed, "I know, but you need to do what's right Noriko."

"You mean press charges?"

"Yes."

"My mother would have me thrown out, and I have no where to go," she replied quietly.

"You will always have a place to go. It's time you took a stand and he was punished for what he's done to you now and in the past."

Noriko winced at his tone when he had said the last sentence.

"You knew?" she asked looking away from him to stare at the gray wall.

"It wasn't difficult to tell. That and Light had told me, but there was nothing I could do unless you actually said something. I need to go, call Light while you wait, it might be a little while."

She nodded her head as he left the room followed by Matsuda.

Her cell phone was in her purse by her crutches she scooted her chair over and grabbed her purse and phone.

She sighed as she flipped the phone open and called Light. He answered on the first ring.

"Noriko, where the hell have you been? My dad called and said something about you being picked up to go to the police station. What happened?"

"Light, I can't answer if you keep yelling at me," she interrupted.

"Fine, where are you?"

"The police station," she replied easily.

"Noriko, what happened?"

"Katsuo."

Light sighed, "Nori, you miss school, you don't answer your phone, there were cop cars outside of your house, and you're at the police station, and you won't give me a straight answer."

The door to the room she was in creaked open and a uniformed officer stepped inside followed by a woman in in business attire.

"I'm sorry Light, but I have to go. Get my assignment from cram school, please?"

"Yeah, fine, but you owe me an explanation later."

"I know. Bye."

"Hello Ms Mori, I'm officer Nami and this is Ms Yuko Furakawa." the uniformed man said.

"Hello," Noriko replied.

"I suppose you want to get this over with so let's get started shall we?" Officer Nami asked cordially.

* * *

Please review!


	6. Chapter 6 Questionable Lies

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Questionable Lies**

"Friday, November 28th 2003, officer Nami along with Ms Furakawa speaking to Noriko Mori in regards to her injuries that she suffered on the the night of the 27th of November," officer Nami spoke clearly and precisely after having taken out a small recorder and setting it in the center of the cold metal table.

Noriko shifted uncomfortably when the officer's dark brown eyes seemed to bore into her.

"Ms Mori, we just need to ask you a few questions, ok? I know it may be difficult, but just relax," Ms Furakawa's voice was calm and rather soothing as she smiled kindly at Noriko.

Noriko nodded.

"Ok so why don't you tell us the events that took place last night. Please be as specific as possible," officer Nami instructed.

Noriko looked the man over. He was middle aged with graying brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He seemed to have a kind countenance, but it was hard to tell, his expression hadn't changed at all.

"Well, I left Light's house at about ten pm and walked home. When I got to the gate of the house I could already hear the loud music and drunken laughter from inside. All I wanted to do at that point was get inside and to my room as quickly as possible. So that's what I tried to do. I practically ran to the stairwell and most of the way up before Izanami said something behind me. She was obviously drunk so I ignored her and kept walking up the stairs, but when I reached the top of the stairs I was suddenly pinned against a wall. It was Katsuo and he wreaked of alcohol and cigarettes. He told me to listen to my mother. I kneed him and bolted for my room. Apparently he's quick when he's drunk because he grabbed the back of my shirt. He said something about the fact that I'd regret what I had done, then slapped me before stumbling downstairs."

Noriko took in a breath after having recanted as much as she could as quickly as possible.

"That only explains the large bruise on your cheek, what about your leg," officer Nami inquired.

"I fell," she replied.

The officer grunted in frustration knowing it was lie, but the young woman next to him gently placed her hand on his shoulder before turning her blue eyes to Noriko.

"Noriko, may I call you that," she asked kindly.

Noriko sighed, 'She sure knows how to make someone feel comfortable, doesn't she? Guess all those psych class she had to take to become a...whatever she is public defender or victim's advocate paid off,' she thought wryly as she smiled back at the young woman.

"Yes of course," Noriko replied.

"We need you to be honest with us. You won't get in any trouble, none of this was your fault after all. You did nothing wrong, you do know that right?"

'Her voice makes me wanna puke, so sweet and innocent,' Noriko thought as she smiled softly.

"Of course, I know it wasn't my fault. I'm a klutz, it's unfortunate, but true."

"Noriko, Chief Yagami already told us you didn't fall. We're just trying to find out what happened last night that's all. You can trust us, we are here to help you," the woman replied sweetly.

"I wasn't exactly lying. I did fall. When Katsuo grabbed me, I stumbled and landed on my ankle, effectively spraining it," Noriko said.

"I see," Officer Nami replied. "Is this the first time he's ever been violent towards you?"

Noriko raised an eyebrow at the officer. "I thought this was about last night? What does it matter what's happened in the past, it's in the past."

"Were you aware of Katsuo's violent record, or the fact that he is currently under suspicion for murder," the officer asked her.

Noriko couldn't entirely hide her surprise at the statement her, eyes widened slightly and she audibly gasped. She lowered her head slightly before replying. "I was unaware of that. Why did you wait until now to arrest him?"

"We had no real proof."

"I see. I have another question if that's alright."

"Go ahead," the officer said with a shrug.

Noriko sighed before looking up at the officer, her eyes were cold and angry.

"Did you just use my injuries as an excuse to incarcerate Katsuo? I mean even if the clinic had called, it's unlikely that the response from the police force would have been so quick. Not only that, but three police cars seems a bit much for one abused girl, not to mention going through the trouble of actually bringing me here for questioning. If this was just a case of abuse then the reaction from the police was pretty extreme, don't you think?"

The officer chuckled at Noriko and the young woman seemed completely taken aback.

"You are a smart one, aren't you," the officer said seriously.

"I try," Noriko answered stiffly.

"We have wanted to get Katsuo for a long time, but we just don't have the evidence we need. We've been keeping watch over the house for awhile now, so it's no surprise we saw you leaving with that limp. We made a call to the cab company to see where you were going and kept on eye on you as well," Officer Nami told her as he watched her reaction.

"I don't particularly like being used, officer. So you'll have to excuse me if I seem a little upset. I figured there was more to it than just the bruises. I'm no idiot, I know for a fact that quite a few people have placed calls regarding me to this office. It seems strange to have waited so long to make your move if it was the abuse you wanted proof of, because there has always been proof of that," Noriko said coldly as she lifted up her shirt to reveal many different bruises some new and some that were fading scattered around her torso and back.

The officers eyes widened slightly and the innocent Ms Furakawa gasped.

"So now that you have what you wanted from me I'd like to leave," she told the two people across from her.

"We need you to sign a few statements and things first," officer Nami said his voice that had been so unwavering until now seemed hesitant.

"Fine."

After many more hours of signing official documents and speaking to the lawyers and what seemed like every other person in the police force Noriko was finally allowed to leave.

"It's ten how am I getting home?" she asked the officer at the front desk as she leaned on her crutches.

"I'll take you, Noriko."

Noriko looked to the left of the desk and saw Mr Yagami walking towards her.

"Ok, thanks," she said as she began to crutch her way towards the older man.

"You're mother is already home, but she is under the impression you had nothing do with today's events and that you were at cram school," Mr Yagami informed her as they drove away from the police building.

"So what does she think?"

"She thinks Katsuo is being detained for questioning regarding a homicide."

"I see. So I'm not supposed to have any knowledge of anything basically right?"

"Right."

"What about Katsuo, what does he know?"

"At the moment, nothing."

"Well at least Izanami won't have anything else to hate me for," Noriko said with a shrug.

Mr Yagami frowned at her comment, but said nothing as he stopped in front of her house.

"Thank you Mr Yagami, I'll see you later," Noriko said as she slowly exited the car using her crutches to balance herself.

"Be careful and if you need anything call, understand," he told her authoritatively.

"Of course."

She shut the car door and made her way through the front gate and into the house. It was unusually quite, and darker than was usual too. Only a few lights blazed inside the two story home.

Noriko quietly entered the house and began the long trek up the steps to her room.

"Stupid crutches...dammit...gah..." Noriko muttered curses under her breath as she took the steps one at time on her crutches.

She reached the top and was slightly out of breath and extremely annoyed. (If you've ever had to use crutches to go up stairs then you know that it's annoying and not all that easy when you're klutz.)

"Finally," she grumbled angrily when she made it into her room and shut the door behind her.

Once she reached her bed she dropped her purse on the ground and leaned the crutches against the closest wall. In a rather ungraceful move, she flopped down on her back in her bed and sighed. A glance at the clock on her desk informed her that it was currently 10:45.

"Good thing tomorrow's Saturday," she said as she reached for her purse to grab her phone. She flipped it open and pressed a single number before placing the phone by her ear.

"That's weird. He should be home from cram school by now and it's still a little early for him to be in bed. Oh well I guess, just means I don't have to explain my entire day," she said, flipping the phone closed and setting it on her desk.

With a sigh, she grabbed her pj's which she had left on her bed that morning and changed.

"Hmmm. I want to wash my face and all but the bathroom is far."

She glanced at the crutches leaning against the wall by her head and with another sigh grabbed them and made her way to the bathroom across from her room.

After washing up she went back to her room and climbed into her nice snuggly bed. She slept soundly for the first time in awhile. There was no loud music, no drunks yelling and laughing, it was peaceful.

It was a little after 10am when Noriko awoke from her peaceful sleep. She stretched in her bed, wincing slightly as she flexed her foot which didn't like the movement. A yawn escaped her lips as she reached over to pick up her phone.

"Gah!" she nearly dropped her phone as it began to ring just as she picked it up.

"Jumpy today Noriko," she mumbled to herself as she flipped the phone open. "Hello?"

"Hey Noriko how are you?" it was Light and he seemed...cheerful.

"Uh, good I suppose. You sound awfully happy, anything I need to know," she asked.

He chuckled softly. "Nope, I'm just glad to be talking to you is all."

"Rrrright," she replied slowly.

"My dad told me about what happened. Are you going to be alright," he sounded more serious now and Noriko just shook her head thinking she had imagined the overly cheery tone.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'm confined to crutches for about two weeks, no big deal though."

"Well, that's good. You aren't going to be going too far though are you?"

'It seems like he doesn't want me going anywhere by the tone of his voice.' she thought.

"I'm not sure. Why, did you want to do something, it's not that far for me to go after all, just a block and a half."

"Don't push yourself. Let your ankle heal, we'll do something after you're all healed, alright?"

"Ok. Are you sure nothing is going on you seem kinda strange," Noriko asked curiously.

"No, no I'm fine. Just glad you're alright I was worried," he replied casually.

"Oh ok. So I'll see you later then."

"Of course. See you later Nori. Bye."

"Bye Light."

She scrutinized her phone curiously as she hung it up.

'That was weird. I've known him my entire life and I know he's hiding something. Maybe it's nothing though, I'm just over analyzing the situation that's it.'

Meanwhile, Light sat at his desk with a smirk on his face. He held a black notebook in front of him possessively. Something in the way he was smirking and the way he held the notebook seemed almost sinister.

"Now I can protect you Noriko, and I'll be the god of a new world. I'll bring justice to this rotting world," he said quietly to himself. His voice was arrogant and sure, like that of a child who has been spoiled for far too long and will not stop until they have gotten what the want, and the consequences don't matter.

* * *

Please review!


	7. Chapter 7 Apparitions and Dreams

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

**Apparitions and Dreams**

It had been about a week since Noriko had been questioned by the police about Katsuo. Her mother had remained fairly quiet and withdrawn the entire time. She was also more anti-social meaning that there were no parties and loud drunken escapades happening at the house every night. It had been fairly quiet and peaceful much to Noriko's liking.

Noriko's ankle was healing nicely. She was able to put some weight on it but she still needed the crutches to get around just to be safe, but figured after a few more days they wouldn't be necessary. The brace, however, was going to be necessary according to the doctor who she had seen that day after school. Apparently she was stuck with the brace for about two months.

'Oh joy,' was her only oh so happy thought on the subject.

Since walking to school was out of the question she had asked for rides. So she had been getting rides to school from a very unexpected source.

Her mother.

Getting home was another problem though. She took the bus that picked up just down the street from the school and dropped her off about two blocks south of her house.

Due to these facts, she had rarely seen Light except for at school and only during the few classes they shared together. So she decided that since it was a nice day she would venture out of her room where she had taken to locking herself in, and try her luck at going to his house.

She managed to get down the stairs without incident, using her crutches while also starting to put just a little bit of weight on her injured ankle. After exiting her house she made her way slowly to the pretty two story home of the Yagami's. Pushing open the little gate she stepped into the yard and walked to the door where she pushed the doorbell and waited.

Voices reached her ears from the other side of the closed door before it was swung open by the petite Mrs Yagami.

"Oh, Noriko. You should be resting dear. That ankle won't heal if you don't let it," the brown haired woman said in a very motherly tone.

"I know. I've just been cooped up in that room for too long and I've hardly seen Light. So I thought I'd stop by, if that's ok, of course," she replied.

"Of course it is," Mrs Yagami said happily. "He's up in his room studying. Would you like some tea, I can bring it up to you?"

"Oh no, I'm fine," Noriko answered as she made her way up the stairs to Light's room.

She tried opening the door but it was locked.

Noriko frowned, 'He's never locked the door before.'

She knocked lightly on the door, "Hey, Light it's me. Can I come in?"

"Huh, oh, I'll be right there," he called in response.

After a few moments of waiting and listening to drawers and things opening and closing, the door opened.

"Hey, shouldn't you be resting?" he asked her.

"I'm fine. Now what are you up to?"

"I'm not up to anything," he replied.

"Then can I come in or are you gonna stand there staring at me?"

Light blinked at her before he seemed to realize he was blocking her entry into his room.

"Sorry."

"Whatever," she replied as she made her way to his bed before turning and plopping down on it with a sigh.

"So how have you been Nori?" Light asked casually.

"Fine. I guess. The house has been quiet, it's nice actually. Mother dearest has been keeping mostly to herself, which I don't mind at all. On top of that Katsuo isn't there and that's nice."

"That's good. How's your ankle?"

"A lot better actually. I should only need the crutches for a few more days. Then I just have to wear the brace, that's what the doctor said at least," Noriko said.

"Is that where you were earlier?"

"Yeah. I had to miss a class to go. Didn't think you'd noticed," she answered somewhat sourly.

"Of course I noticed."

"I wasn't sure you would. I've hardly seen you in the last, what has it been, a week? You're always gone right after the last class and I haven't really been able to get out much," her voice sounded suspicious and also sad.

"I'm sorry Nori," he said, taking a seat on the bed next to her, "I've just been really busy."

"With what? I know you're hiding something from me Light," she accused.

He looked almost shocked for a split second, but it was gone as quickly as it had come.

"Why do you say that?" he asked her curiously.

She eyed him like he was insane. "Well, let's see. I _have_ known you my whole life. So I think I can tell when you're acting strange. And you've been acting strange all week."

He shook his head at her and sighed. "You're just imagining things, Noriko. I think you've been stuck at home for too long, that or the pain killers are affecting your brain."

"Don't joke around. I know you're lying," she said seriously.

He became serious and just looked at her.

"What," she barked.

"It's nothing Noriko. I promise. I've just been busy with school work and stuff," he replied impassively.

"That's it," she asked skeptically.

"Yes. After all, I need to make sure I can take care of you in the future, right?"

Noriko tweaked an eyebrow at him, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He just smiled before leaning forward and kissing her on the forehead, "Oh nothing. But I can't give you the world if I don't work for it, right?"

"You don't have to give me the world, Light," she sighed tiredly.

He got up from the bed flashing her a quick a smile, "Doesn't change the fact I will."

Noriko watched him curiously as he made his way to his desk to flip on the television. Something in the way he had smiled had unsettled her.

'It was arrogant, like he knows he'll be able to do just that,' she thought.

She shook the thought away as he walked back to her, and they laid back to watch the news. Noriko rested her head on Light's shoulder, as he wrapped an arm around her to hold her close.

The news anchor was talking about the recent death of a man who had been on death row for the murder of two young women. Apparently he had died today of a sudden heart attack, he was only 28. The news droned on but Noriko tuned it out after a little while and just snuggled next to Light.

She just laid there listening to the dull sound of his heart beat and his even breathing. It was calming and it was making her sleepy.

Noriko yawned tiredly.

"I think I'm going to head home, Light. I'm pretty tired and it's about to get dark," Noriko said as she stretched lithely before swinging her legs over the edge of his bed.

Light stretched as well before standing up and walking around his bed.

"Alright. I'll help you downstairs," he replied as he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

"Light. What are you doing?" she asked, slightly annoyed. "I need my crutches."

"I'll get them in a minute," he said as he leaned forward and placed his warm lips on to hers.

She was slightly surprised but relaxed and closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation of his lips on hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened and she felt her knees grow weak.

'Funny. I've kissed him plenty of times since we've become an item, but he never fails to take my breath away,' she thought as they broke apart.

They both took in a deep breath before Light released her and stepped back towards the door.

"Come on," he said with a smile.

"Right," she replied somewhat breathlessly.

He helped her down the stairs and walked her outside to the gate.

"Be careful, ok. I'll see you later," Light told her as he kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Of course."

As she left the Yagami's she passed a neighbor of theirs who had a paper bag full of apples she murmured a greeting and noticed that they were going to the Yagami's.

'That's nice of them,' Noriko thought as she made her way back to her house.

As she turned the corner of her street a shadow passed over her and a sudden chill passed through the air. She looked up to try and see the source of the shadow but there was nothing that she could see. No birds were flying around and there weren't many trees along the street. She shivered involuntarily and glanced around herself. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, all of the houses and gardens were fairly well lit so she could see that there was no one around. She also noticed that there was no wind and it was still a fairly warm day, making her wonder where the cold chill had come from.

A sense of foreboding filled her as she tried to shrug off the strange chill and continue along the quiet house lined street. It felt as if something was watching her, something sinister and dark.

Unknown to her, yellow red eyes peered at her quizzically from a telephone pole not far behind her. The eyes were set into sickly looking skin above an upturned nose and large red lips. Black wings hovered in the air around it before the being turned away and flew off.

"Such an interesting human," it said with one last glance back at the retreating figure of the girl.

She reached her gate and quickly made her way inside and to her room. Once there the feeling of being watched passed, but the foreboding sense of something evil lurking nearby did not. With a quick shake of her head she tugged at the dark chain that held her black cross securely around her neck. She let her fingers brush over the cool metal as she lay down and stared at the white ceiling.

"I'm being paranoid," she mumbled to herself.

After a few minutes of staring blankly at her ceiling she pushed herself up and grudgingly readied herself for bed. She changed into her pink and blank striped pajama bottoms and slipped on a fitted black tank top before going to her bathroom and washing up. She pulled her hair into a braid to keep it out of her face and then made her way back to her comfy bed.

Grabbing the black remote for her television off the desk she pressed the on button and tuned into to the local news station.

The current news anchor was a middle aged woman with short brown hair and brown eyes. She was dressed in a dark blue suit jacket and a pale blue button up shirt. She was currently talking about the deaths of many violent criminals. It seemed that criminals were dying of unexplainable heart attacks. The deaths had begun only a few days before, and already it was becoming a hot topic.

'It's like someone's killing off all of the criminals. That's just not possible though. Is it?' she thought as she continued to stare blankly at the television.

She brought her hand to her face and began to chew on her thumbnail. During her distraction and wandering train of thoughts something else occurred to her. She tried to shake the thought away, knowing that it was ridiculous. It just kept nagging at her though.

'The deaths of these criminals started about five days ago...The same time that Light,' she shook her head roughly trying to shake away the nagging thought. 'No, that's absurd. How could Light have anything to do with this? The deaths have to be coincidental. There's no other explanation, how do you kill someone by giving them a heart attack? It's impossible. Unless you're a shinigami, which don't even exist outside of books..'

She sighed as she turned the television off and immersed herself in a welcoming darkness.

It wasn't long before she drifted into a fitful sleep.

She woke up a few hours later and glanced at the clock on her desk. It read 12:34 am. A sudden cold chill made her shiver and huddle under her blanket. It was then that she heard the soft flutter of fabric.

Curious, she looked around and noticed that her bedroom window over her dresser was open. The pale gray curtains that covered them blowing and twisting in the night breeze.

"When did I open the window," she said aloud although she meant it more as a thought.

"You didn't," a quiet voice answered.

Noriko froze as she was about to stand and close the window. Her feet where touching the carpeting of her room, and her hands were placed on either side of her. Unconsciously, she gripped the blankets on her bed and stared straight ahead with wide eyes.

"H-hello? Who's there," she was trying to sound braver than she felt. It wasn't that easy though, after all she just woke up to her window open and a strange voice talking to her.

"You've forgotten me already, have you," the voice replied almost playfully.

Noriko's wide eyes narrowed as she thought the voice held traces of something familiar. It wasn't menacing or frightening. It was a soft voice like the sounds of a calm stream after a small rainfall.

She glanced around her room, but the shadows hid most of the corners and she couldn't tell where the voice was coming from or if anyone was even there.

"I'm going crazy," she muttered to herself hoping she was just dreaming and this wasn't real.

"Afraid not little one," the voice replied with amusement.

Noriko immediately cocked her head to the side as the voice spoke once again. Her eyes blinked rapidly as a shape began to form out of the shadows near the window.

"D-daddy," she whispered hoarsely as her chest tightened and her throat grew dry.

A tall man with kind, bright green eyes and smooth features stood before her. His short combed hair appeared black in the darkness but Noriko knew that wasn't the case. It was a dark brown with a slight red tint in the sun. Similar to her own.

A kind smile creased his smooth face as he stared down at the young girl on the edge of the bed.

"But you're...You're..." Noriko struggled to find some words to express her disbelief at the sight of her dead father but could find none.

"Dead? Yes, I know," he replied thoughtfully, but there was also a hint of sarcasm too.

"I'm dreaming right?" she asked.

"Sort of," he said with a shrug of a shoulder.

"Sort of. I'm talking to my dead father, I have to be dreaming," she replied matter of factly as she shook her head rather forcefully causing her to get a little dizzy.

"Have it your way, but I'm more than just a memory in your unconscious mind at the moment."

"You haven't changed much," Noriko muttered,."Still talking nonsense even though you're the dead one and I'm the one going crazy and having talks with ghosts in my dreams. Now I'm just muttering to myself like a real crazy person..great."

"Done," he asked cheerily.

She nodded. "For now. Once reality sets back in I'll probably start freaking out and crying though."

Kiyoshi Mori chuckled lightly at his daughter.

"So is there a reason why you're standing in my bedroom at almost one am?" she asked curiously.

'I'm not freaking out yet, that's good,' she thought as she smiled at the specter before her.

"I came to tell you something."

"Tell me what?"

"Well, this may seem a bit strange, but bear with me. There is a battle about to begin between two opposing forces. Good and evil, light and dark," he explained.

Noriko tweaked a brow at the light and dark comment wondering if there was more to what he was saying.

"You will get stuck in the middle. Both sides will try to use you for their own devices. So there are a few roads open to you. Almost all are lined by death and betrayal, but love is also there as well. It is your decision whom to help, but remember that true love is something that few ever find. It's a precious rarity that can heal a wounded heart, or break one down."

Noriko was listening silently, not sure what to make of his words. She knew there was more to what he was saying but she just didn't know what. It was all so strange and unbelievable.

"I don't understand. A battle? As in a war?" she asked, confused.

"Not exactly. More like a match of wits, or a very deadly and involved game of chess. I just want you to follow your heart, and not ignore it. It will lead you in the right direction. Remember what I taught you about right and wrong, and remember that no matter how good someone's intentions are it doesn't mean that what they're doing is right."

If the topic hadn't been so serious, Noriko would have felt like she was being lectured.

"This makes no sense to me, but ok," she said with a smile.

'I've lost my mind...Yay...' she thought somewhat sarcastically.

"Also, that necklace," he said pointing to the black cross that dangled around her neck, "Never take it off. It will protect you from the eyes of those that have no business being here."

"I still have no idea what you mean by that you know."

"You will, soon enough," Kiyoshi said sadly.

"Ok, so there is a battle coming up. I'm going to be involved somehow, and I'm going to have to choose what side I'm going to be on. Sounds interesting, to say the least," Noriko said with a shrug.

"I need to be going," her father said as he glanced to her open window, "I will watch over you as best I can, I love you Noriko."

"I love you too dad."

He bent down and kissed her on her forehead. She laid herself back down and curled up into her blankets. The heavy pull of sleep tugging at her.

"Sleep well my girl," she heard her father whisper before she fell into a state of unconsciousness.

* * *

Please review!


	8. Chapter 8 Encounters

Disclaimer- As I'm sure we all know by now I Ruki do not own Death Note, if I did well..L would..Let's not go there...

I don't own anything that sounds remotely like anything heard in the anime or read in the manga...

* * *

**Chapter 8**

**Encounters**

Two days had passed since Noriko's rather unnerving talk with her deceased father. She was still confused as to just what it was he had been talking about. There was no indication any type of battle was going to be occurring in the near future.

She was currently lying on top of her black bedspread that had little pink sakura blossoms on it, staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. She hadn't really seen or spoken to Light since the day of her dream and she was beginning to wonder just what was going on with him.

He had become somewhat distant and distracted. Anytime she talked with him it was like he wasn't listening to her, but to someone else. It was starting to make her impatient, and angry. He was her boyfriend, she shouldn't have to feel like he wasn't interested in her anymore. Which she knew wasn't the case.

Noriko knew that Light was still interested in her, he said so whenever they were together. It was just that his distraction was making her feel a little left out and it hurt her. She really did love Light, and she knew he returned the feelings, but she couldn't help but feel bitter at the recent lack of attention.

A defeated sigh escaped her lips as she reached over to her desk and grabbed the television remote. Turning on the t.v she sat up and leaned a pillow against the wall. She leaned back into the pillow before crossing her legs in front of her and then grabbing her homework from her backpack by the desk. Scattering the papers and books on her bed she began to do her work. She had tuned out the t.v. as she worked on some math problems that she was having a hard time solving.

"We are interrupting the regular programming to bring you a globally televised broadcast from Interpol."

Noriko heard the announcement but it didn't register that it was a global telecast, or that it was from Interpol. Otherwise she might have paid some attention to the broadcast. Since she didn't register those facts though, she just continued on doing her homework.

"I am Lind L. Taylor, also known as L, the only person able to mobilize the police in every country. Criminals have been the target of a killing spree which has turned into the largest mass murder case in in history," a smooth male voice informed viewers.

"Huh," Noriko's head shot up at the words.

That had gotten her attention. She sat on her bed still cross legged and stared straight ahead at the handsome dark haired man who was sitting behind a wooden desk. Her pencil dropped from her fingers leaving a small line where it hit the paper as it fell with a dull plunk.

She continued to listen, absolutely intrigued by what she was hearing. There had been rumors around the school about how someone had been 'getting rid' of the criminals, she was pretty sure that some of the students had taken to calling this person something. She couldn't say what the name was though, she hadn't bothered to pay attention. To her it was just a coincidence, she never believed that someone was out there killing criminals by way of heart attacks.

"Kira, as the perpetrator is known..."

'Kira that was it,' she thought with interest.

She hadn't been out of the house much since she was still having some trouble getting around on her ankle. It was still healing and she still needed the crutches, so due to this she hadn't been hearing much about the so called 'Kira' and how he was apparently ridding the world of its criminals.

"... will be caught. I guarantee it. Kira, I think I have a good idea why you are doing this. But what you are doing is evil!"

Noriko's eyes widened at this statement.

'From the rumors I've heard this 'Kira' person has supposedly been killing by using heart attacks to rid the world of criminals. But I don't buy it, it's impossible, how can you give someone a heart attack? I don't get that part. Some say it's supernatural powers, but that's even more far fetched. So how...' Her thoughts were interrupted as the man on the screen suddenly clutched at his chest.

"Oh my god," she breathed, eyes wide in disbelief and shock as the man Lind L Taylor slumped over the wooden desk he had been occupying.

"I...I don't believe it," a distorted voice said through the television speakers.

"What's going on," Noriko whispered to herself.

"This was an experiment to test a hunch I had," the distorted voice continued.

'Experiment!' Noriko thought still in shock.

"Kira, it seems you can kill without being present...So..My hunch was right, I just couldn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes...But you can...You'd have to of course, that's the only way it made any sense. But I, L, do exist. That man was not me, he was to be executed today in utmost secrecy. I am still alive. So come on! Kill me if you can!" the distorted voice of the detective L challenged.

'What is this L guy doing?! Is he crazy, Kira just proved he can kill without being present and now he's taunting him!'

Noriko continued to stare at the screen that now displayed the letter L in black English script. The man known as L continued taunt the killer. There were a few moments of silence in which Noriko began to get anxious.

"It's not possible," she began to say in disbelief before the distorted voice rang through the speakers again.

The next words that were said surprised Noriko to the point that she gasped and nearly forget to breath in again. She stared dumbfounded at the L on the t.v screen.

"...plan was to broadcast live to other regions in Japan in turn. But that isn't necessary... you are in the Kanto region of Japan, Kira."

'This can't be for real...This killer, because that's where the name Kira comes from, is in the Kanto region? Here in Japan?'

Noriko stared blankly at the screen as L began to tell what he knew of Kira. His first kill had apparently been the Shinjuku killer that had taken a school and its occupants hostage a little over a week earlier. This had only been broadcast in Japan so that had been the reason for broadcasting in Japan first. How Kira was able to kill people with heart attacks was still a mystery to everyone. A mystery L said he'd solve when he caught Kira.

"Kira, I will find and dispose of you, if it's the last thing I do! Until next time, Kira."

And with that the screen went blank for a moment before the sound of static was heard and the screen went fuzzy.

It would have been annoying, but Noriko didn't care. She was too stunned by what she had just witnessed to really even notice that the broadcast had ended.

She blinked slowly a few times before shaking her head to clear it of the fog that settled over her during the strange and frightening event.

"This can't be for real...Someone killing without being present...Criminals suffering inexplicable heart attacks...If I hadn't just seen that I don't think I'd believe it, but that wasn't fake. It didn't feel fake at least, it was too...real...L I hope you find this Kira person, he's a danger to everyone. He just killed what was an innocent person before you told of his crimes, and his pending execution. Good luck," Noriko whispered into the silence of her room.

The regular television show began yet again but Noriko still hadn't moved. Her jaw was hanging open slightly as she stared down at her bed blankly.

After taking a few minutes to recover from the initial shock of what she had just bore witness to she reached for her phone that was still tucked into a pocket of her black and red school bag. Flipping it open she numbly pressed the number that would connect her to Light.

The line rang several times before it was answered.

"Hello," Light said, sounding somewhat strained.

"Hey, it's me," Noriko replied blandly.

"Oh, hi Noriko."

"You seem distracted? Did you just see that broadcast too?" she asked.

"Yes. It was quite... unnerving," he answered.

"Yeah it was. Do you think it was real? I mean how can someone kill someone like that? A heart attack, and not even actually being there? It can't be real? Can it?"

Light seemed to hesitate momentarily before answering.

"It seemed real to me. I don't know how any of it is possible, but something tells me it should be interesting to see how this battle ends," he said.

Noriko's eyes widened and she let out an audible gasp.

"Noriko, are you alright?" Light asked, sounding concerned.

"What..What did you just say?"

"I asked if you were alright?"

"No, before that...A battle? What makes this a battle?" she asked slowly, carefully.

"Think about it. L is going after this Kira figure because he feels what he is doing is wrong. L's job is to rid the world of criminals, but Kira feels that it's his job too. Both of them feel what they're doing is right, but only one will win," Light responded. His voice held an arrogance Noriko had never heard in it before, but something else too, something she couldn't place...Something like hatred.

"Do you think Kira is right in what he's doing? And what makes you think it's a he," Noriko asked quickly.

"I don't know really. It's wrong to kill people, but I can see the good in what he's doing, I guess I just assume Kira's male. I don't think a female would be able to kill so easily like that."

"You think there's good in what he's doing? But what he's doing is evil. It's not justice. These criminals would be punished for their crimes, but instead Kira is just killing them off. It makes him no different than the criminals he kills," Noriko argued.

Light didn't respond to her argument at first. His breathing could be heard through the phone and it was quicker than normal almost like he was angry.

"Maybe so Nori," he replied after a short pause.

Noriko could hear the undertones of anger in his voice as he spoke, and something that sounded like an arrogant child too. It confused her, she had no idea why her statement would anger him. Unless..

"You support this Kira person, don't you?" she asked suddenly.

She heard Light take a quick breath as if she had startled him.

"Uh, no, of course not. I mean what he's doing can be seen many different ways. He's ridding the world of the criminals that taint it and making it a better place. In doing so though he must kill the killers."

"Doesn't that make him the same as them?"

"I don't know really. We're taught that killing is wrong, but you can't help but wonder if Kira really is doing the world a favor," Light replied.

"I don't know, this is all so strange," Noriko said quietly.

"Don't worry about it Noriko. It has nothing to do with you, and you're in no danger. Just relax, I'm here to protect you," he told her reassuringly.

"I hope you're right," she mumbled.

"What do you mean," Light asked her curiously.

"Huh, oh, it's nothing..Just a strange dream, I had a few nights ago," she answered distractedly.

"Dream? What happened?"

"My dad decided to pop in and give me a cryptic warning about a battle between light and dark, or some nonsense," Noriko then recounted her dream to him.

"That's definitely interesting, Nori. I wonder just what he meant?"

"I don't know, but as long as I've got you looking out for me I'll be fine, right?"

"Of course, I'll never let anything happen to you," he replied.

"Good," she sighed.

"You sound tired, you should rest Noriko. I'll see at school tomorrow ok?"

"Ok, I love you Light," she said.

"I love you too, now don't worry and rest I know the entrance exams have you stressed."

"Yeah. Good night."

"Night."

She hung up the phone and set it back down on her desk.

With a sigh she looked down at the work still scattered haphazardly around on her bed. No longer interested on working on her school work she gathered everything up and replaced it in her bag.

After putting her things away she limped carefully over to her dresser to grab her pajama's that were folded on top of it. She made her way slowly to her bathroom across the hall, and proceeded to change and ready herself for bed.

It wasn't that late so Noriko just climbed into her bed and watched television for a few hours. She wasn't paying much attention to the programming as her mind wondered around in distraction.

'A battle,' she thought, 'Could this be what dad was talking about?'

She mused over the idea of L and Kira being in a battle. At first she didn't see how the two were battling each other in any way. Then she recalled what her father said about a game of chess.

'Chess is a very careful, and thoughtful game. One wrong move and it's checkmate,' she thought. 'So I suppose when you consider the fact that you play with knights and rooks and what not, it does resemble a type of battle. It's just more a battle of the minds than a physical, hand to hand battle.'

Still staring blankly into space she let out a small sigh.

'So this is the battle I'm to be involved in, huh? I don't get it. Dad had mentioned love. I love Light but there's just no way he's involved in this so...Oh, I don't know,' she thought in exasperation.

She turned the television off and laid back. Lying on her back she placed her arms behind her head and looked into the darkness.

Her continuous thoughts finally tired her out and she drifted into unconsciousness.

She blinked her eyes open slowly. There was hardly any light, and what there was was dim and dull. A cough racked her body as she drew in a sharp breath upon realizing she wasn't in her room. Dust and dirt filled her nose and throat as she tried to regain her breath.

Looking around hesitantly, she noticed she was in what looked like an old abandoned warehouse. She was lying against some musty smelling boxes that were bending under the strain of holding her upright. She was surrounded by boxes, large and small, they were stacked everywhere. There were labels on some but she couldn't make them out. She also noted that there was a maze like path leading through the boxes.

Dusting herself off, she stood slowly and glanced around one of the corners. Besides the boxes, which looked as if they had been there for years, she couldn't see anything else. No people, or doors, or even rats.

She shivered at the thought of rats being her only companions.

Another glance up and around told her she was somewhere near a wall of the warehouse seeing as how she could see the metal of the roof arching downwards to her left.

Shrugging, she started walking through the boxes towards the wall. After only a few moments though she was thoroughly confused. She hadn't turned since she had walked out of the area she had been in, but she appeared to be farther from the wall of the warehouse than before.

The distant sound of voices caught her attention.

"Hey," she yelled. "Where are you? Can you help me, please?"

Furrowing a brow and listening intently she could still hear the faint voices but her yell had gone unanswered.

Deciding to try and find the source of the voices, she began picking her way through the maze of boxes.

She heard a muffled voice nearby and could have sworn it had said Light Yagami. It was what was said next that confused her.

"You are Kira."

Noriko stiffened. The voice sounded as if it where right beside her.

She turned around quickly, but saw no one. Still tense, she continued walking towards the voices.

The sudden sound of gunfire filled the air.

Noriko screamed and crouched low, bringing her hands up to cover her ears.

"Humans are so interesting."

Noriko's eyes widened as she removed her hands from her ears and raised her head to see the strangest creature she had ever seen.

The creature was rather tall with long arms and legs. It was thin and skeletal. Its face was drawn up into a strange smile. The thing stared at her, its red lips curling, and its bright eyes staring at her curiously.

"What are you?" she asked in a dazed whisper.

"I am a shinigami," he replied with a smirk. "You don't happen to have any apples, do you? I'm rather hungry."

"Uh, no," Noriko replied slowly.

"Too bad," the being replied.

'Oh my god. I've completely lost it. I'm crazy. First my dead dad and now a thing that says it's a god of death..Why would I be dreaming of a god of death? And why the hell does he seem so unfazed by all this?' Noriko thought frantically.

"If you're a shinigami then why are you here?" she asked uncertainly.

"I'm not here to eat you, don't worry," the shinigami replied with a dry chuckle.

"A little late for that," she muttered as she brought a hand to her forehead to check for a fever.

'I must have a fever or something, my body just can't handle the stress of the upcoming exams that's all.'

"I was bored," the being said after a thoughtful silence.

Noriko gulped as the creature's already strange face twisted into a frightening smirk.

"Noriko, what are you doing here?"

She cocked her head to the side, not recognizing the somewhat childish voice that had addressed her. Turning around she saw a young boy with disheveled white hair staring at her curiously while twirling a strand of hair around a finger. She also noted that there were other people behind him as well, but she couldn't clearly make them out. Although she was sure there was a man that looked similar to the boy only with messy black hair and shadowed eyes.

"Do I know you," she asked.

"Of course you do Nori," another familiar voice said.

She whipped around to face the shinigami again only this time in front of him stood Light. He wore an arrogant and prideful smirk on his face as he looked at her.

"He's our enemy," Light said.

"Enemy...I don't understand..." she replied.

"Noriko," a different voice said from behind her, it was quiet but demanding.

She turned to see the shadowed figure of the black haired man standing behind the boy who had spoken earlier.

"You must choose," he said.

"I don't understand," she replied, on the edge of panic. "Who are you people, was that gun fire earlier, and what's going on?"

She grabbed her head in her hands and fell to her knees roughly.

The feeling of a warm hand touching her shoulder snapped her out of her panic. She looked up slowly and her bright green eyes met another set of bright green orbs.

"You need to wake up now little one," her father said with a kind smile.

With a jerk and a sharp intake of breath Noriko shot up in her bed. She was breathing rapidly and a cold sweat covered her body. She leaned back into her pillow and tried to calm herself down.

'What the hell was that I dreamed,' she thought to herself, 'I don't really remember anything of it now. There were people I didn't now, but I don't remember much else...'

She tried to recall more of the dream she knew she had but found the harder she tried to remember the more she forgot. By the time she awoke the following morning all she would remember would be her dad's smiling face.

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Please review!


	9. Chapter 9 Debates and Dates

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note, k?

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**Chapter 9**

**Debates and Dates**

Two weeks had past since the broadcast that had started the now infamous battle between Kira and the detective known as L. It was the hottest topic everywhere. No matter where you went all you would hear was some gibberish about Kira and L and who was right and who was wrong. Of course, out in the open most people would say things like 'killing is wrong, Kira needs to be stopped,' or something along those lines. Few people would actually stand up for Kira, at least in public.

In the time since the broadcast the killings of criminals had continued. There didn't seem to be much of a pattern to them, none that the public was aware of at any rate. Criminals, no matter where they were, were dying of inexplicable heart attacks. They were dying in prisons, on the streets, in their homes, even in public parks.

Noriko lay on her stomach with her feet up in the air and her chin in the palm of her hand. She was on Light's bed internet surfing on her laptop while he worked on homework at his desk. Her bright green eyes studied the web pages before her with something close to disgust.

She made a soft snorting noise when she read the information on the web page she had just pulled up.

Light glanced over at her from his desk, a curious look in his eye. "What is it, Nori," he asked.

"Can you believe this," she replied, her voice was a mix of disgust and disbelief.

Light's brown eyebrows rose slightly at her little outburst."What," he asked curiously.

"All these web pages dedicated to Kira. It's rather disturbing. I mean the word Kira is derived from the English word killer, yet all these pages are praising him, some even call him a god," she replied still not looking away from the screen of her laptop, her face twisted into a disgusted frown.

Light sighed softly.

Noriko cocked her head up at him."That was a rather annoyed sounding sigh," she observed.

"I'm not annoyed," he answered, now sounding annoyed and glancing away from her and to his right.

Noriko tweaked a brow at him. "You sound annoyed."

"It's just all I hear about is Kira and L and quite honestly it gets a little old."

Noriko nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I can see that, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. So I take it you still think that Kira is wrong in what he's doing?"

"Well yeah. He's a killer and a killer is a criminal. Criminals are bad," Noriko replied bluntly, feeling like a child who had just been lectured about right or wrong.

"Maybe he's trying to protect something," Light suggested with a shrug of his shoulders.

Noriko eyed him for a moment, trying to figure out just what he meant. "Protect something, like what?" she asked rather curious.

"Like what little goodness there is left in the world."

"Light, do you support this Kira person," she asked seriously.

Light seemed surprised by her question. "What gave you that idea?" he asked.

"Well, you seem to defend or make excuses for why this person is doing what they're doing. You've never said anything against what's going on."

He shrugged noncommittally. "I guess I don't have much of an opinion. Or maybe I'm just torn. Depending on how you look at things Kira is trying to help the world by getting rid of the evil people in it, but at the same time he must kill to do so."

Noriko looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Understandable... Are you alright?" she asked as Light swatted at the air near his right shoulder.

"Yeah, just a bug," he answered as he cast an annoyed glance over his shoulder.

"Uh, ok," Noriko replied slowly.

"How has your ankle been by the way," he asked nonchalantly, easily changing the subject.

"Oh, pretty good I still need the brace as you can see," she said as she glanced at her offending ankle with annoyance.

"No more crutches though, huh?"

"Nope," she answered with a smile.

"Too bad, I kinda liked having to help you all the time," he said with a small smile.

"Is that so," Noriko replied innocently.

"Yeah, it is," he chuckled.

Noriko pushed the laptop aside and rolled on to her back. She tilted her head back and looked at Light.

"You've been kinda distant lately, Light," she said sadly.

The smile on his face disappeared and he seemed to hesitate at her words, unsure of how to respond.

"You're all I've got, I just want to make sure you're not..." she trailed off not sure what to say.

"Not what?" he asked, encouraging her to finish her thoughts.

She sighed quietly and stared up at his ceiling, folding her arms over her stomach.

"I don't know really. I guess I'm just being insecure."

Light stood up from his desk and walked over to his bed that Noriko was sprawled on. He sat beside her and looked down into her eyes.

"You have no reason to be insecure. You're mine, and that will never change," he told her as he pulled her up into a hug.

She rested her head against his chest and never saw the smile that passed over his features as he looked towards the corner of his room.

"I'm glad," she replied softly. "I know I'm not the best girlfriend, even though it's you, I still feel awkward whenever it comes to expressing how I really feel."

Light rested his cheek on her head as he reassuringly squeezed her tighter. They stayed like this for a few minutes before Noriko pulled away.

"I think I should head home," Noriko said with a quick glance outside.

"Alright, I'll walk you."

"You don't have to."

"I want to," he said giving her a warm smile.

After packing up her belongings, the two made their way downstairs and out into the darkening night.

They walked hand in hand to her house, neither one saying anything. Just enjoying the company.

When they reached the gate to her home Noriko sighed.

"What," Light asked.

"It's just..It was nice spending time with you again. You've been so busy lately, I was beginning to feel you had forgotten about me," she said with a sad smile.

"I could never forget about you," he pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her forehead tenderly. "It's just with all the exams coming up, I've been studying constantly."

"I know, I'm just being selfish. I guess I want you all to myself," she replied teasingly, poking him softly in the shoulder.

"Since when did you get clingy," he teased back.

"Oh you know, today," her eyes sparkled happily as she looked up at Light's handsome face.

"You can be such a pain," he teased.

"Oh, whatever," she responded as she leaned forward to kiss him lightly on the lips before flashing a quick smile and disappearing behind the gate.

"That's cheating," he mumbled after after her.

He heard a small laugh in response.

"Good night," he called.

"Night," she called back as she walked to her door.

"She really is an interesting human," a raspy voice said.

Noriko froze, her hand hovering above the knob of the wooden door.

'Did I just hear that,' she thought on the verge of panic. 'Why does it sound so familiar?'

She looked behind her, but there was no one there. In the distance she could see Light about to turn the corner of her street, but aside from him the street was deserted.

Shaking her head she finally opened the door and stepped into her house.

'I'm hearing things, that's all. Or maybe it was just the wind,' she thought as she slowly made her way up the stairs and in to her room.

"That wasn't the wind."

"Ahhh! What the...uhhhhh...Dad," she asked the shadowy figure standing by the window uncertainly.

"Yup," he replied cheerily.

Noriko blinked her eyes a few times before frowning at the figure that she could still see.

"What, aren't you happy to see me little one?"

Noriko walked to her bed and dumped her things next to her desk before plopping down on to her bed. She lay back and raised a hand to her head.

'No fever, so I'm crazy. Yup, that's it,' she thought.

"You're not crazy," her father stated.

"Uh huh, then explain why I keep seeing my dad, who might I remind you is dead," she asked skeptically.

"Easy, I'm a ghost. Boo," he answered, raising his hands to wriggle his fingers at her.

She stared at the figure of her father incredulously. "I've absolutely lost my mind," she mumbled.

"Whatever you want to believe, dear," her father replied with a shrug.

'Stupid ghost thing, sounds just like dad, but ghosts aren't real.'

"I assure you ghosts _are_ real."

"Are you reading my mind? Because that's just creepy."

A look of confusion spread across her face as her father began to laugh at her.

"Oh, great, now the imaginary ghost of my dead dad is laughing at me like I'm the crazy one," she grumbled stubbornly.

"Sorry, it's just that your facial expressions, they're so readable.." he trailed off as he started chuckling at her again.

"You _must_ be my dad, because only he would find humor in this situation."

"I already told you that sweety," he answered as he stopped laughing at her.

"Ok, so why do you keep popping up? You're dead." Noriko stated bluntly.

"I just want to make sure you're ok, so I'll be popping in as much as I can," he replied easily.

"And you just expect me to be ok with this?" she asked.

"Well, yeah."

"Let me get this straight dad. You're dead. You're a ghost. And you're haunting me?"

"When you say it like that it sounds so freaky," he answered thoughtfully as he put a finger under his chin.

Noriko resisted the urge to smack herself in the head.

"Of course it does dork, because it is," she answered haughtily.

"Don't call your father a dork, it's disrespectful," he said with a small pout that was an exact replica of her own.

She rolled her eyes in exasperation. "So only I can see you and hear you, right?"

"Right," he replied with a nod.

"K. And how does this not make me crazy again?"

Kiyoshi rolled his eyes at his daughter. "Such a nonbeliever. I didn't teach you to be so closed minded."

"No," her voice sounded sad now, "You didn't. You didn't teach me a lot of things."

Her father's eyes softened as he regarded her sadly.

"I'm sorry I left you. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Well, of course you didn't dad, but still it's not like it's easy seeing you all of a sudden. Especially as a ghost, it's a little strange."

"I'm sorry."

"Eh, it's ok, whatever," she replied as she wiped at her eyes that had grown moist with unshed tears.

"Just think of this, at least I get to watch you all the time now. Even if you don't see me, I'll be there."

"That's creepy, you know that don't you?"

"What?" he asked, confused.

"You sound like some crazy stalker."

He smiled brightly at her before turning back to the window.

"I'll let you get some rest now. Good night."

"Night."

Then he was gone the only sign of his presence was the light breeze that momentarily filled the room with a scent like the smell of fresh rain.

"I'm crazy." Noriko sighed as she rubbed at her eyes.

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Noriko lay burrowed in her blankets sleeping soundly when her phone began to ring.

"What the heck," she mumbled grumpily as she reached over and plucked it off her desk.

Without looking at the caller I.D she flipped the phone open and brought it up to her ear.

"Hello," she grumbled.

"Hey Noriko."

"Light, what the heck? What time is it?"

"It's a little after nine. Were you still asleep?"

"Yes," she answered grumpily.

"Well wake up."

Noriko groaned. "Why, it's the weekend."

"I'm taking you out," he informed her cheerily.

Noriko was silent for a moment as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes in a daze.

"Wait, what?" Noriko asked.

"Get up, get dressed and I'll meet you at the bus stop by the park at eleven."

"That's the stop that goes to Spaceland, isn't it?"

"Yes, now get moving," he ordered.

"Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, even though she had a big smile on her face. "See you then."

"See you then."

She hung up her phone and dropped it on the bed next to her before stretching and yawning.

"This should be fun, I haven't been to Spaceland in years," she said as she made her way to her dresser to get clothes before heading to the shower.

After showering and cleaning up, Noriko put on dark blue jeans that were somewhat fitted until they flared slightly before touching the ground. She then slipped on a silvery tank top and a long sleeved black v-neck sweater. Her cross dangled just above the top of the tank top, glittering in the light. Grabbing her brush she brushed out her long hair before gathering the hair above her crown and pulling it back and pinning it in place, so that most of her hair was down but not in her face. Satisfied with her appearance, she smiled and went back to her room.

She looked at her shoes before deciding on a pair of black slip on sneakers that had white soles. Taking a quick glance out of her window she also grabbed a black and red plaid pea coat.

"Ok, I think I'm good," she said casting one last glance in her mirror before grabbing her bag and heading towards the bus stop.

She reached the stop just as Light was walking up.

She looked at him strangely as he approached, it looked like he was talking to himself as he walked towards her with his hands in the pockets of a beige coat.

"Hey Nori," he said as he gave her a quick hug.

"Hey," she replied before shivering slightly. She had the same foreboding feeling that she remembered from a few weeks before just before her dad began to show up.

"Are you cold,"he asked, concerned.

"Huh, oh no, I just got a weird chill," she answered with a small nervous chuckle.

"If you say so."

The bus arrived a few minutes later and the two got on and took seats near the back of the bus. She noticed another man get on the bus right after them and take the seat behind them. She didn't really think much of it but she kept getting a strange tingle in the pit of her stomach that made her feel like she was being watched.

She shifted slightly in her seat and glanced behind her but the man wasn't looking at her. He was staring out the window looking bored.

'I'm just paranoid,' she thought to herself.

Light was sitting in the aisle seat while she sat by the window. She watched as the scenery rolled by, and didn't look up until the bus stopped to pick up another passenger a few miles down the road.

The man that got on the bus looked almost familiar to her. He was short, with dark hair, a mustache and beady eyes. It was then that she recognized the man.

She let out a small gasp of surprise. It was a man who had been all over the news a few days before. He had attempted to rob a bank and had killed three people in the process.

"Light," she whispered frantically to him as she grabbed on to the sleeve of his coat.

"Huh," he said as he looked over at her, "What's wron-"

"Alright, this bus has just been hijacked people!" the man yelled as he pulled a gun out of his coat and waved it at the passengers on the bus.

"Oh my god," Noriko said in a quiet panic.

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Please review!


	10. Chapter 10 Impact

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note, understood?(I don't own the rule below either, although I tweaked it a bit, so that I can advance my plot line a bit more,k?)

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_**So as not to impact other lives, only the person whose name is written in the notebook shall die. The person's death will not hurt or kill any other living being. This is to ensure that no other person is inadvertently effected.**_

**Chapter 10**

**Impact**

Noriko tried not to completely freak out then and there. She was scared out of her wits at the moment however and not freaking out was getting harder by the second. Her face paled and her eyes widened as she watched the man wave his gun around wildly at the people on the bus.

The man began ranting about money and told the bus driver to call Spaceland. The driver complied and the phone was torn away from him as the call connected. Once he had the phone, the hijacker gave instructions for a woman to bring all the profits from the day before, by car, to a bus stop that was two stops before Spaceland.

Light tapped Noriko softly on the leg. She looked over at him worry plainly written on her pale, beautiful face. He had a piece of paper in his hand that he was trying to show her.

Noriko read the paper carefully, her eyes widening as she scanned the message. It was a plan for him to grab the gun from the hijacker and then pin him down.

"No, Light-" she began in a frantic whisper grabbing on to his arm tightly.

"That's too dangerous, let me take care of it," the man behind them spoke.

Light began to scribble something down on the paper in his hand.

"It's alright, as long we talk quietly he won't be able to hear us over the sound of the engine," the man said.

"Not to be rude, but you have a slight accent. You aren't Japanese, are you?" Light asked.

"No, I'm American. My mother is Japanese though," the man replied.

"Do you have any way of proving you aren't the accomplice to that hijacker," Light asked.

"What, why would-" Noriko began before being cut off by Light.

"It's pretty common, they make you think there's only one guy, but actually he has an accomplice in the back to watch and come to the rescue if something happens."

Noriko remained quiet as she waited for the man to give them some kind of proof. The proof he provided was something she didn't expect.

"Here," the man said as he passed Light something that resembled a wallet.

Light flipped it open and stared at the F.B.I identification card that was inside.

"F.B.I. What's the F.B.I doing in Japan," Noriko said quietly.

"Ok, I trust you. I won't ask what an F.B.I agent is doing on board a bus in Japan though," Light said as he handed the man back his I.d card.

"You have a gun right?" Light asked, still sitting facing forward.

"Yeah."

"So I trust you'll take care of anything that might happen?"

"Yeah."

Noriko sat silently throughout the exchange, watching the hijacker nervously as he stood at the front of the bus.

'What's the F.B.I doing in Japan,' she thought.

She heard a mumbled 'oops' from Light as he dropped a slip of paper on to the floor of the bus.

'The note,' Noriko thought, now beginning to panic.

"Hey you, hold it. What's that paper?!" the hijacker yelled as he approached the back of the bus.

Noriko tried to crouch lower in her seat and pushed herself against the side of the bus trying to get as far away as possible. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively, and waited in a tense silence as the man made his way towards Light.

As the hijacker picked up the note, she heard muffled movement from the agent behind her, but resisted the urge to look over her shoulder and give the man away.

"What's this? Where you're meeting your date," the hijacker snapped, unfolding the note to read Light's neat, impeccable writing.

Noriko sighed in relief before tensing again when the gun was pointed directly at Light. If she had been paying more attention she may have noticed that Light didn't seem at all troubled by the fact that there was a gun being pointed at his head by an insane man who was shaking so bad from what Noriko figured where drug withdrawals.

"Drop something else and I'll shoot ya! That goes for everyone else!" he yelled as he tossed the paper back at Light.

The paper bounced off the seat in front of them and would have landed in Noriko's lap if Light hadn't quickly grabbed it just before it did. Noriko looked at him oddly. He had moved sort of awkwardly to get the paper before it touched her. She also noticed the relieved expression on his face as he grabbed the paper, as well as the strange grin that crossed his face as he placed the paper back in his pocket.

'What was that about,' she thought curiously as she stared at him. The loud voice of the hijacker broke her out of her thoughts a few seconds later and she snapped her attention back to the front of the boat.

"Anybody makes a move and I'm gonna..."

The man trailed off and stared at the back of the bus his eyes widening in fear as he started shouting about a monster. He raised the gun and put his finger on the trigger.

Noriko's whole body went rigid. The man at the front of the bus continued shouting out in fear, screaming obscenities at whatever being it was that only he could see.

'He's seeing things,' she thought, still frozen in shock. 'Someone's going to get hurt.'

"Everybody down," the agent yelled from behind her.

She couldn't move, just stared wide eyed in fear at the man as he pulled the trigger of the gun. She heard the sound of glass shattering as the bullet crashed into the window in the back of the bus, letting in a sudden gust of cold air.

The sudden noise and the sound of the glass shattering caused her to throw her hands up and cover her ears. A sharp pain suddenly shot up her right arm, she cried out in pain just as Light reached up and grabbed her. He pulled her down and put on arm over her, holding her tightly while the hijacker continued to empty his gun at the monster that was tormenting him. When the gun was empty, he dropped it onto the floor and ran towards the front of the bus, yelling for the driver to stop. The driver did as he was told, slamming on the brakes and nearly flipping the bus. They hadn't come to a complete stop before the crazed man was pushing his way through the doors to get off the bus.

Noriko watched as the man stumbled out of the opening doors of the bus, somewhat relieved that the ordeal was over. The screeching of tires on the asphalt caught her attention and she once again looked out the window. She let out an anguished cry, turning her head away from the gory scene outside her window and into Light's shoulder. The hijacker had practically fallen off the bus, right into the path of a mid-size car.

Shaking, she glanced out of the window, only to instantly regret it when her green eyes landed on the mangled corpse of the hijacker lying lifeless in a growing puddle of his own blood.

"Noriko." Light's voice was soft and reassuring. He was trying to get the dazed girl to look away from the grotesque scene just outside while tears fell unnoticed and silently from her eyes.

A piece of the broken window had sliced her arm at an angle from just below the inner area of her elbow to just under her thumb. She had removed her jacket when they had boarded the bus so her black v-neck sweater was now ripped and soaked with her own blood.

Tears streaked slowly down her face as she resisted the urge to vomit at the sight of the bloodied corpse outside of the bus. Her body shook with the effort of trying to regain control over her emotions. At the moment they were all going haywire. She couldn't sort through the thick fog that had settled over her mind. Each emotion pressing in on the other fighting for dominance in the fog.

"Noriko," Light said again, this time shaking her shoulder lightly.

She blinked a few times to clear her eyes of the tears that still leaked from her now dull green eyes. Her head rose slowly to look up at Light who was standing in the aisle looking worriedly down at her.

"Let's go outside, ok, we need to get that cut bandaged."

Her movements felt like they were in slow motion as she nodded and raised her hand to put it into his. She stood up carefully, afraid her knees might buckle under her without warning, sending her crashing to the dirty, glass covered floor. Light wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders and guided her out of the bus. He gently pushed her head towards his shoulder as they exited so that she wouldn't have to see the corpse that lay just a few feet away.

They walked to the other side of the bus and to the sidewalk where the few other passengers had gathered. Many people were still in shock and not speaking, just staring wide eyed at the bus while others cried.

As they stepped on to the sidewalk, Light brushed some hair from Noriko's tear stained face with his thumb, before trying to get her to look up at him.

"You're safe Noriko, remember I promised I'd never let anything happen to you," Light said reassuringly. He was studying pale face and red rimmed eyes with concern and tenderness, stroking her cheeks calmly with his thumbs.

She found it hard to talk and was only able to mumble his name quietly before burying her head in his chest and holding tightly to his jacket. Wrapping his arms around her, Light held her and let her sob quietly into his jacket.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," Light suggested finally. Trying to gently push her away so that he could lead her away from the area.

"Shouldn't we wait for the police," she mumbled as she pulled away and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Do you really want to deal with more questioning? I think you've had enough excitement for today. We need to get that cut bandaged, it looks pretty bad." He carefully took hold of her wrist to look at the bleeding cut on her arm.

'She shouldn't have been hurt. In the experiments I conducted no one else was ever hurt except for the person whose name I had written down,' Light thought in confusion, staring at the open cut on Noriko's arm.

She winced slightly as he raised her arm, but nodded in response.

"Hey, what happened to that F.B.I agent, he's gone," Noriko asked.

"The police aren't supposed to know he's in Japan so he left, I told him we wouldn't say anything to the police, or my father. So let's just keep this whole ordeal to ourselves, I'm sure you'd rather not talk about it or have to keep answering questions about what happened. Besides if the girls at school found out we were out on a date, you'd probably have to deal with them and their absurd remarks," he said trying to lighten the mood.

"Oh, right," she replied with a sniffle and a small chuckle. "Like I don't get enough trouble from the girls at school, they'd wind up making up some knight in shining armor story and I'd somehow be the bad guy for putting you in danger or something."

They began walking away from the scene of the accident, Noriko leaning against Light as he wrapped an arm around her.

"Wait here," Light spoke up suddenly. Detaching himself from Noriko, he jogged towards a little convenience store.

"But-"

"I'm going to get something to bandage that up. Unless you'd rather go to the hospital and explain it," Light said as he cut her off.

She lowered her head and nodded slightly before Light turned and walked into the little store. He emerged a few minutes later with a bag in his hands.

He walked over to Noriko who was sitting on a low brick wall to the side of the store.

"Come on, there's a park around the corner. We'll go there and clean that up for you."

"Ok," she replied meekly.

Light frowned at her as she stood and began walking beside him, her head bowed and her face a mask of confusion and pain.

'She's really shaken up. Not that I can blame her, but it's like something else is bothering her too,' Light thought.

Noriko chewed on her bottom lip as she followed alongside Light. 'The F.B.I...The only reason they would be here would be because of L and Kira. L did say he could mobilize the police forces in every country. The U.S would definitely help, especially if they think Kira poses a threat to them in any way...But why would there be an agent on the bus...what was he doing there?' Noriko's thoughts revolved around the F.B.I agent and the reasons he would have been on the bus.

"Nori," Light called, concern in his voice, which snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Take this and go in the bathroom to clean out the cut," he told her as he handed her a bottle of peroxide and pointed to the bathroom.

She looked at the bottle in his hands and hesitated. She really wasn't too keen on the idea of cleaning it out by herself. Blood didn't really make her uncomfortable, but pain did, and she was pretty sure that this was going to hurt. A lot.

Light sighed, "Come on," he said. Taking her other hand in his, he tugged her to one of the bathroom doors.

The lock read vacant so he pushed the door open and stepped into the cramped little room with Noriko behind him.

Motioning for her to stand by the sink, he carefully rolled up her tattered sleeve trying his best not to hurt her. He noticed that she had looked away and was nervously fiddling with her jacket that she had in her left hand.

"This is probably going to hurt," Light warned quietly, looking into her eyes.

She bit her lip and nodded.

A few seconds later she had to clench her teeth in an effort to not cry out in pain as the cool liquid was poured onto the cut. She closed her eyes as tears threatened to pour from them. Her breathing grew quicker as the pain flared up and she tried not to move.

She could feel the strange tingly sensation of the disinfectant bubbling as it cleaned the cut and the coolness of it as it dripped from her skin.

"You ok," Light asked as he began to dab at the cut with a dry paper towel. Wiping away the blood that stained her pale skin.

"Mmhmm," she hummed through clenched teeth.

He then carefully bandaged up her arm while she continued to look away.

"I'm done," he said to her.

She glanced at him then to the bandaged cut on her arm. She noticed that Light had somehow managed not to get a drop of her blood on him. The sweater she was wearing, on the other hand, even though it was black, was discolored in some places by the blood that clung to it. She frowned down at the sweater.

She began tugging the bottom of the shirt up in an effort to take it off. The pain caused by her right arm though was enough to make her wince and nearly give up, until she felt the shirt slowly and carefully coming away from her body.

"Here," Light offered quietly.

"Thanks," she mumbled when he pulled the dirty, torn shirt over her head and helped her get it off her injured arm.

She tossed the sweater in the trash and stood in her silver tank top, luckily the blood hadn't soaked through the sweater and onto the shirt.

He brushed a kiss against her forehead. "Let's get you home, so you can rest."

He smiled at her before exiting the cramped bathroom with her right behind him.

She shivered in the cold, and began to carefully shrug her jacket back on. Light helped her after seeing the difficulty she was having. After she had gotten the jacket on he rested his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Noriko blinked and looked up at him in confusion.

"Sorry? For what Light?" she asked.

"I let you get hurt," he replied as he pulled her in to a tight hug while carefully avoiding her right arm.

"You didn't let me get hurt Light. You didn't hijack the bus, or shoot the window to bits. It's not your fault."

He remained silent as he continued to embrace her.

"Light," she questioned softly after a few more moments.

He pulled himself away from her and smiled. "I guess I just feel responsible, I said I'd protect you and you got hurt," he explained, placing his arm around her shoulders.

"It wasn't your doing, don't worry about it, and you did protect me. I could never blame you," she said letting her head rest against his chin.

He put a finger under her chin and tilted her face up to his. "I love you Nori, I won't let you be hurt again. I promise," he said quietly and before she could reply, he leaned forward and caught her cold lips in his.

Noriko gladly kissed him back, the warmth of his lips on hers was like a that first warm day after winter. It was refreshing and it promised more warmth to come.

"I love you too, Light," she whispered breathlessly.

"It's a long walk back home, do you wanna catch the bus back," he asked.

She shook her head. "No, I like walking like this. We don't get much time together anymore and I think I'll take advantage of it for now."

"You don't want to be alone, do you?"

She was silent for a moment, but after a short sigh, she nodded. "Not after that."

"You could have just said that and you can stay at my house for a while before going home, ok?"

Noriko nodded her head in reply.

The rest of the walk was spent in silence as Noriko snuggled against Light and tried to push the events of the day out of her mind. She took comfort in being with Light, and was glad that he had been there for her. It was also good to know he wouldn't constantly bring up what had happened that day, she didn't want to ever think about it again.

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Please review!


	11. Chapter 11 Lost in the Snow

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note, only Noriko... Who is glaring at me...

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**Chapter 11**

**Lost in the Snow**

Nudging the sleeping girl beside him, Light whispered, "Noriko, wake up."

Noriko squeezed her eyes shut tighter, not wanting to move from her comfortable, warm and safe position on Light's bed. Her auburn hair partially hid her face as she rolled over on to her side, facing Light.

"Dinner's ready," Light said.

"I'm not hungry," Noriko mumbled tiredly, burying her face into a pillow and snuggling under the blankets.

"You're eating," he informed her authoritatively. "I don't care if you're hungry or not. I haven't seen you eat anything in days." With that, he began to wrestle the sheets and blankets from Noriko's grasp.

Noriko yawned and stretched lazily when she was uncovered, but buried her face in the pillow again not a minute later. "I don't wanna," she whined.

Light sighed. "Please, for me?"

Noriko opened one green eye and looked at him with a small frown. "Fine, but only because you asked so nicely," she replied as she forced herself out of bed.

"You aren't sleeping at home, are you?"

"I'm sleeping fine," she answered quickly.

"You're a horrible liar."

"If you must know, I haven't gotten much sleep since that day," she said, tugging on the sleeves of the somewhat large sweater she had brought along with her.

"I figured as much. It's been a week, Noriko, you need to put it out of your mind. How's your arm?"

"Healing. It'll scar, but I can deal with that."

"Come on," Light said, carefully entwining his fingers through hers and leading her downstairs.

"Noriko, are you all right dear," Mrs Yagami asked. The older woman's face was full of motherly concern when she took in Noriko's pale complexion and bruised looking eyes.

"Huh, oh yeah I'm fine," she replied.

Light glanced over at her and frowned, in the bright light of the dining room it was much easier to see just how fatigued she really was. Her face was still pale and her usually bright green eyes seemed dull from lack of sleep and the puffy bags under them did little to help. She looked horrible to say the least.

"You sure? You've been so quiet and you look like you're not feeling well. That and you seem to be here all the time, not that I mind of course, but is everything ok at home?" Mrs Yagami asked, the concern still ripe in her voice.

"Sachiko, let's just leave Noriko alone for now, I'm sure she'd tell us if something was wrong. Right Noriko?" Mr Yagami asked as he walked in to the dining area.

"Of course," Noriko replied, nodding and forcing a smile.

"Dad it's good to see you home, you've been working so much lately we hardly get to see you," Light said to his father as the man took his seat at the table.

Dinner passed in silence, well on Noriko's part at least. Sayu was bubbly and talkative, Light would occasionally say something, and the older Yagami's just sat and enjoyed their time together.

It looked to Noriko like Mr Yagami was stressed and worried over something as dinner came to an end. He hadn't talked much and he seemed to be avoiding talking at all costs.

"So dad how has work been for you?" Light asked when Mrs Yagami was clearing the plates from the table.

"Yes, well, I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you," the man replied.

"Tell us what dear," Mrs Yagami questioned, sitting back down beside her husband.

"We aren't going somewhere for New Year's, are we?" Sayu chirped happily.

"Quiet, Sayu," Mrs Yagami scolded.

"I'm in charge of the special task force that's investigating the Kira case," Mr Yagami said his face turned down towards the table, "The reason I'm telling you this is because twelve F.B.I agents were sent to Japan to find Kira. All twelve of them... were found dead yesterday."

"What!" Sayu cried.

"You mean they were killed by Kira?" Light inquired, shocked.

Noriko's eyes widened minutely at the revelation, 'F.B.I...That man on the bus...'

"In other words anyone who tries to apprehend Kira may be killed. Morale is low and many of my detectives are quitting. Who can blame them, we're dealing with such a cold and heartless murderer," Mr Yagami continued.

Noriko sat quietly in her seat, she felt a little awkward being involved in such a sensitive family talk.

"Then you quit too dad! What if he tries killing you?" Sayu spoke up.

"She's right, your life is more important than your career, all you have to do is resign," Mrs Yagami spoke up worriedly.

"No. I'm seeing this through to the end. I will not succumb to evil," he answered.

"I'm proud of you, dad," Light said as he stood from his seat. "You're absolutely right and if anything ever happens to you I'll catch Kira." He was now about to walk out of the dining room, but he turned back to look at his dad again. "I'll make sure he gets the death penalty, I swear it."

Noriko stared after Light for a few seconds while the others continued on with their talk. 'That seemed a bit dramatic, even for Light.. especially for Light,' she thought as she continued to stare at the doorway Light had walked through just a moment before.

"Excuse me," Noriko said quietly. Standing from her own seat, she made her way back upstairs and to Light's room.

'He has helped the N.P.A on cases before so it wouldn't be a stretch if he were to help on another case. His deductive skills are amazing, and he hates losing...Just like L... The great detective that sent twelve men to Japan and to their early graves. I don't know anymore, but something isn't right,' she thought as she entered Light's room to find him hunched over his desk with the television on.

"That was an awfully dramatic exit," Noriko stated, plopping herself onto Light's bed.

"Was it, I hadn't noticed," Light replied disinterestedly.

Noriko frowned at his back. 'He's still hiding something from me. He has been for weeks now.'

"So did you mean it," she asked, trying to sound curious and not suspicious for reasons she didn't fully understand.

"What," he asked, turning towards her as if uncertain what she meant.

"That you'd find Kira."

"Yes, of course, why?"

"No reason. It's strange, we meet that F.B.I agent on that bus and now he's probably dead," Noriko stated still staring at Light's back.

She noticed the muscles in his back tense for a moment before they relaxed again.

"I hadn't thought of that," he replied.

'Then why did he tense up?'

"Oh, well that day has been bugging me a lot."

"You just need to relax and forget about it, Nori."

"Maybe, but something isn't right. That man, the hijacker, had been on the news the day before. He had killed a few people while attempting a robbery. Kira doesn't usually waste time in killing people, so why wait," she asked thoughtfully.

Light shrugged. "Who knows, maybe he was busy or something."

"Possibly, or maybe there's more to it than that," she suggested thoughtfully, laying back and folding her hands behind her head.

"What do you mean," Light asked, the note of apprehension was quite obvious in his voice.

Noriko frowned again.

"Well... if he can kill people by way of heart attack without being present and with only a name and face, is it really so hard to believe that maybe, just maybe, he can kill in other ways?"

If she had bothered to look away from the ceiling, she might have noticed the scowl that crossed Light's features for a brief second, but she didn't. She also failed to notice that his eyes had darted to the side of the room, a look of annoyance showing clearly through his brown eyes.

"I suppose not, but how would that even be possible? We know he needs a name and face to kill, but criminals only seem to be dying of unexplained heart attacks, no reports of other types of deaths have been reported."

"Of course not. If heart attacks are the main way he kills, then no one would notice if a criminal died of an accident, or was run over by car. It would be just an accident and nothing more," Noriko replied, her voice thoughtful as she stared blankly at the ceiling.

"Killing by heart attack would be for anyone he wants noticed. Any other method used, if it's possible, would be to not draw attention to the death," Light said sounding quite surprised and intrigued by the idea. "Good thinking, Noriko."

She shrugged. "I think I thought too much, my head hurts," she said while bringing a hand to her temples.

Light chuckled at her before swiveling around in his chair, a frown on his handsome face and his hand clenching tightly to the pencil in his hand.

"Sounds like she's starting to suspect you," a mocking voice said in his ear, a voice only he could hear.

The pencil in Light's hand snapped.

Noriko looked over at him from her perch on the bed. "Are you ok," she asked curiously.

"Yeah, just frustrated with all this homework," he replied with a convincing sigh.

"Oh."

She blinked at his back a few times before lying her head back down. 'He's been so edgy lately,' she thought as she chewed on her lower lip, 'Then again entrance exams are only a few weeks away.'

"I'm going to head home," she said suddenly, getting up from the bed and grabbing her things.

"Ok," was Light's only monotonous and bland reply.

Noriko tweaked an eyebrow at him. "Ok," she repeated.

"Oh, sorry," he said looking over at her.

"Whatever. I'll talk to you later," she replied with a shake of her head and a sigh.

"Are you ok?" he asked as she headed for the door.

She stopped and frowned at the door in front of her, her hand resting on the handle.

"I'll be fine," she replied. Without any hesitation she twisted the knob and stepped into the hall, shutting the door behind her.

'What the hell's wrong with me,' she asked herself on her walk home.

Her head was down and her hair covered her face as she walked.

"You look upset."

Noriko jumped at the unexpected voice, dropping the textbook in her hands.

"Dammit," she cursed. Putting a hand over her heart that had tried to jump out of her throat, she glared at her father who was innocently grinning back at her.

"Did I scare you?" He inquired casually.

"No, dad, not at all. It's normal for people to have ghosts pop up at random times and start talking to them," she replied sarcastically as she looked up from picking up her book, and looked into her dads smiling face.

"Sorry," he said as he raised his arms and shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever," she sighed as she continued walking home.

"So what's bothering you," Kiyoshi asked his daughter, concerned.

"Can we talk at home, after all I am the only one who can see and hear you," Noriko said quietly.

"Fine, so worried about what other people think," her dad teased.

"I'd really rather not be known as the girl who mumbles to herself. Now shut up."

"Jeez. Is it really necessary to be so mean," he whined.

Noriko sighed and rolled her eyes.b'You haven't changed much. Still as much of a child as I am,' she thought.

Noriko walked into her house and up the stairs to her room. She set her bag down by her door before turning and going into the bathroom. She quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth before heading back to her room.

Shutting the door behind her she switched on the little boom box she had, it began playing the CD she had left in it earlier that day, the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children soundtrack. She pushed the back button to restart the current song, Water, it was her favorite song on the CD. She loved the sounds, and the flow of the music.

"Ok, so now what did you want to know?" she asked as she set her bag down by the desk and flipped on her lamp. "Where the hell did he go now," she grumbled. Her father was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm here, I'm here," she heard him say.

Turning towards her window, she saw him leaning against the wall, staring out into the night.

"It looks like it might snow soon," he observed quietly.

"Tomorrow actually, according to the news reports," Noriko replied.

"So what's bothering you, my little one," he asked, his gaze not leaving the dark night beyond the window.

Noriko sighed softly and sat down on her bed, grabbing her pillow and hugging it to her chest. "I don't know. I can't help but think that there's something Light isn't telling me. I've been feeling that way for awhile now. It's probably nothing, just anxiety over the coming exams, but I just feel that there's something I'm missing," she said.

She saw a frown tug at the normally upturned lips of her father and wondered if there was something that he was keeping from her too.

"I don't know what to tell you, Nori. You need to figure this out on your own. I wish I could help, but I can't," he told her sadly.

"It's not your fault. I'm just over thinking the situation most likely," she replied.

"Maybe," he answered.

"School's out for New Year's. I have a whole week to do absolutely nothing," she said with a sigh. "I'm going to be so bored."

Her father chuckled at her. "I'm sure you'll find some way to occupy yourself."

"Neh, I don't even care, I think I just want to not think."

"Have fun with that," her father laughed. "I'm going to be going now."

"Ok, good night dad."

"Night little one."

A soft, cool breeze filled the room with the scent of fresh rain and the curtains fluttered softly as Kiyoshi faded away.

"It's snowing," Noriko said quietly, taking a quick glance out of her bedroom window.

She fell asleep as she listened to the gentle sound of the snow falling against the house and the sighing of the wind as it playfully danced with the snow just outside her window.

The following morning she was awoken by the sound of her mother slamming the door shut downstairs, sending a loud echo and shiver through the house.

'She must have to work. That or she's starting the New Years celebration off early,' Noriko thought as she pulled herself out of bed and stumbled her way to her bathroom.

'Why do I feel like I'm forgetting about something,' she thought groggily. Rubbing at her eyes with the back of a hand, she yawned and played with the water temperature on her shower. She took a long, hot shower and then finally dragged herself out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around herself.

With a quick glance outside she saw that it was still snowing. A smile played on her lips as she grabbed a pair of dark jeans and a scoop necked, long sleeved black shirt that fit rather snug.

She made her way back to the bathroom and got dressed and began to do her hair. Since it was snowing, she had decided to blow dry it and avoid any unnecessary illness. Once it was dry, she separated it in to two sections, one on each side of her head, and swirled the sections into buns, securing each one with one black and one white hair stick. The bangs that didn't get pulled into the buns were left out and hung loosely around her face.

Walking back to her room, she went to her closet and rummaged around for a few minutes. Crashes and banging being heard as she tossed things out of her way. "Aha! Found you," she sang, reemerging from the closet with a pair of knee high black suede boots that laced up the front. She slipped them on her feet and tucked her jeans into them before tying the laces.

Jumping up from her bed, she walked to her dresser and flung open a drawer and began digging through the different colored fuzzy objects before grabbing a black, white, and red one and tugging it out of the drawer. Once the object was free, it was revealed to be a striped scarf with little tassels at the ends. She then snatched her black and red coat off her desk chair and left the house while shrugging it on.

She wrapped the scarf around her neck letting one end rest behind her and the other in front of her. A content sigh escaped her lips as she began to wander aimlessly around in the softly falling snow.

The snow had always had a way of making Noriko feel relaxed and at ease. She loved the feel of it as it would touch her cheek before melting away, leaving hardy any trace of its gentle caress. The way it muted out other sounds had always amazed her as well, it made everything so peaceful.

She let her feet guide her as she walked through the quiet neighborhood and towards the city. There was no specific place in her mind, she just wanted to enjoy the peace of being alone and contemplate on the thoughts that had troubled her mind recently.

Her thoughts drifted lazily around in her head and she soon found herself lost in them. Without realizing it, she had walked all the way into town. Looking up, she noticed she stood across from the police building. A frown creased her forehead as she stared at the building before her.

'How the heck did I end up here,' she thought forlornly.

"Oh well," she sighed as she began to walk away again.

There was a little park just down the road on the left that Noriko remembered visiting as a child. It was small but she remembered all the trees and the benches that lined the sidewalks. Making her way to the little park, she sat down on the closest bench she could find. A quick look around the park and she saw it was deserted, which was really no surprise.

'It's New Years after all,' Noriko thought as she tilted her head up towards the sky.

She closed her eyes as the snow fell gently on to her upturned face and soothed the worry from her mind. A smile tugged at her lips as she remembered when she had been little and her father had brought her and Light to the park for a picnic. It had started off well enough, both children behaving themselves and not squabbling over anything. They had noticed though that not many people had been out that day, it was a warm, breezy summer day, a perfect day.

Of course that all changed when it suddenly began to rain cats and dogs while they were still in the middle of eating.

Noriko, being the child she was and loving the rain, had immediately dropped her sandwich and started running around in the pouring rain. Light grumbled something about her being dumb as she did this and her dad tried yelling, ok more like pleading, with her to come back so they could go home.

She had ignored them both and continued dancing around in the rain, a happy smile on her face.

"You're such a pain Noriko," Light called out to her.

"So, at least I'm having fun crabby pants," she retorted while playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

"Noriko, honey, let's go home now, please," her father whined.

"No," she replied.

Her father sighed and Light rolled his eyes.

Noriko giggled at just how uncomfortable they were. "Ok, fine, let's go," she said as she skipped towards them.

Now Noriko has never and probably never will be known for being graceful. So it was really no surprise, except maybe to Light who went down with her, when she stumbled over her own feet and fell, right on top of Light.

"OhmygoshLightI'msooosorry!" Noriko said really, really quickly.

"Just get off me," the irritated boy had retorted.

Noriko had frowned at him, but carefully removed herself from him. "Sorry," she said, this time in a quiet mumble, her bright green eyes turned towards the dampened ground.

"Ok," Light grumbled out, seeing that she was sorry and felt bad.

A smile immediately brightened her downcast face as she leapt at Light and hugged him.

"Ugh, get off," he whined.

She released him from the hug, but not before pecking his cheek in a chaste kiss and grinning happily. She remembered the shade of red he had turned and just how cute he had looked. A chuckle escaped her as she recalled the day.

The sound of voices caught her attention, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. It sounded like they were just on the other side of the wall that separated the park from the street.

Her head tilted to the side, much like a curious cat, as one of the voices, a male voice, seemed very familiar. The other voice, a female's, did not.

"Have you told this to anyone else," she heard the male voice ask.

Noriko's eyes shot open when she realized without a doubt who the owner of the male voice was.

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Please review!


	12. Chapter 12 Chasing Shadows

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note, ok? Excuse me while I go shoot the lawyer skulking behind the bush outside with my automatic air soft pistol...

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**Chapter 12**

**Chasing Shadows**

'Light! How could I not have noticed,' she thought in surprise. 'Then again they weren't so close before.'

She stood up and slowly made her way to the opening in the wall. The voices were no longer within ear shot, so she poked her head out and looked around. Sure enough, she saw Light walking with a dark haired woman wearing jeans and a black leather jacket. The woman's back was to her so she couldn't make out her face or features to see if she recognized her at all.

'What the heck is he doing,' she thought angrily.

She wanted to walk up to him and smack him upside the head, but figured that wouldn't be the best course of action. After all, she trusted Light, so she had no reason to think that he was doing anything other than talking to a friend. She was just being unreasonable and jumping to conclusions. To her, making an unfounded assumption was little more than idiotic.

The woman didn't look familiar to her at all though which began to bother Noriko. Light had never kept secrets from her, they had always shared everything, but that had changed recently. 'He has been keeping something from me,' she thought as she bit her bottom lip, 'but he wouldn't...would he...' Her thoughts trailed off as she realized they were turning the corner of the street up ahead.

Making a quick decision, Noriko skulked after them. She watched from the corner as the two people walked up the block and turned down another street. Noriko followed along again and watched from the street corner as the two continued to talk about something before turning yet another corner.

"Are they going in circles or something, that street will lead right back to where we... I... mean they started," she mumbled, continuing to walk along the street.

She watched as they walked down the street passing by another opening into the park that Noriko had been in.

Noriko followed along until she reached the park entrance and then turned into the opening in the wall and walked quickly along the wall that lined the park.

"Thanks for all your help," she heard the woman say from the other side of the fence.

"Of course," she heard Light reply amicably.

There was a short pause as Noriko assumed the woman began to leave and then a shuffle of footsteps slowly leaving the area.

"Wait," she heard Light call, he seemed almost hesitant.

Noriko made her way back to the entrance she had originally used to get into the park. Looking discreetly passed the wall, she saw the woman facing towards her, looking at Light, while he stood with his back to her.

"... the Task Force," the woman said, clearly surprised at the revelation.

Noriko frowned, she had no idea what the woman was talking about since she had only caught the last part of the statement.

'Light isn't involved in any type of Task Force. What the hell is going on?' she thought.

A slight chuckle behind her made her freeze. She stood stock still, the hairs on the back of her neck raising. Slowly, Noriko turned towards the chuckle.

'There's no one here,' she thought somewhat relieved, before the same dark chuckle filled the cool air.

This time she turned back towards where Light was standing, she was sure it had come from where he was standing this time. The only people around though were Light and the woman he was talking to.

When she finally redirected her attention back to Light she noticed the woman digging something out of her purse and she then handed it to Light who then scribbled something down on a piece of paper.

Light glanced down at his watch as he handed the woman back the object she had given him.

The woman seemed to notice this too because she heard her ask him something about it. The answer she received never made it to Noriko's ears. She noticed the look on the woman's face grow worried before falling blank as she turned and walked away from Light.

Light stood where he was for a moment before turning around and walking in the opposite direction the woman had gone. There was a strange smile on his face and a look in his eyes that Noriko had never seen before.

'That was odd,' Noriko thought as she watched the woman walk away.

Turning around Noriko sat back down on the park bench and rested her elbows on her knees before setting her chin in the palms of her hands.

'Her facial expression changed so quickly, it was like she went from normal, to scared, to blank in a span of five seconds. I wonder what they were talking about, and just why Light was with her to begin with.'

* * *

Noriko squinted down at the paper that she held before her. She wasn't one for reading the newspaper often, but a small note on the front page had caught her attention.

"YOUNG WOMAN MISSING AFTER DEATH OF FBI FIANCE"

Flipping through the pages to find the section that the article mentioned on the front was tucked in to, she took a seat on a bench of the same park she had been in just a few days before.

"This is weird," she mumbled, she finished the article and continued to stare it. Closing the paper and setting it on the park bench she rose slowly, tucking her hands into the warm confines of her coat.

She began to walk slowly through the park, her eyes watching the ground pass slowly underneath her boot clad feet.

'That woman. She's missing. The picture with the article looked just like her,' Noriko thought, frowning thoughtfully down at the pavement. 'The day I saw her and Light talking was the same day she disappeared,' her frown deepened and her brows drew closer together.

'She was apparently engaged to one of the F.B.I agents that was killed just a few days before. Could it have been suicide, it was speculated as being possible in the article but, she didn't look like the type to do that...'

She unconsciously raised a pale hand to her lips and began nibbling on the nail of her thumb, a clicking sound could be heard every time her nail slipped from between her teeth causing her teeth to snap together lightly.

'It still seems odd to me that that one agent was on the bus the day of the hijacking. He had to have been tailing one of the suspects, but who? It doesn't seem to fit, he sat right behind Light and I and even saw the note Light had written...Why was he paying so much attention to us?'

Noriko heaved a tired sigh as she continued to walk around the city, lost in thought.

'I suppose it's possible that he was investigating Light. He is the police chief's son, and he is extremely smart and talented. There were things in the beginning of the whole Kira affair that would lead someone to believe that Kira had police information before the public did. That being the case, it's very likely that the police force would have been put under surveillance, including their families,' Noriko thought as she continued to stare at the ground beneath her feet.

'A few days after that bus jacking all the F.B.I agents sent to Japan are killed...L is a suspect in that one though. He admitted himself he could mobilize police forces from every country, and because of that he would have had access to the files of all the men...But that can't be right, he's the greatest detective in the world. He's known for his deductive skill, there isn't a case he hasn't solved...Then again it would be a good cover...' Noriko frowned at her own deductions. 'The problem with this is that by my own reasoning Light would be a suspect too...I did compare him to L the other day, they are both smart and seem to have amazing deductive skills and talents. And Light occasionally helps the N.P.A solve some pretty tough cases. That conclusion is impossible though...Light said himself he'd catch Kira if he had to...Then again that brings us back to having the perfect cover. Eh, this is too much for me. My mind is too jumbled and my thoughts aren't even making sense. Not to mention I'm carrying on an entire conversation with myself. No mor-'

Noriko grunted as she suddenly collided with something taller than her and being as graceful as she was, she promptly fell backwards and landed unceremoniously on her butt with a small cry of pain.

"Ow," she said, wincing after the impact.

"Sorry about that young lady, are you alright," someone asked, their voice had a strange accent, but it was warm and concerned.

Noriko looked up to see an older man with glasses and white hair smiling kindly down at her. "I'm fine, thanks. Sorry, I wasn't paying much attention to were I was going," Noriko replied, her cheeks tinting pink in embarassment.

"Not a problem dear, let me help you help," he offered as he stretched his hand out to her with a smile.

"Thank you."

As she stood she resisted the urge to rub at her sore backside and just smiled apologetically.

"Not a problem. You looked troubled, are you going to be alright," the man asked.

Noriko sighed, "I hope so. I've just been thinking too much lately, never a good thing for me."

The man chuckled, it was such a warm and happy sound that Noriko couldn't help but to chuckle too.

"I should be going, dear it was a pleasure bumping into you..." the man trailed off.

"Noriko," she answered.

"Noriko, I'm Watari. Until we meet again dear," the man said before turning and walking into a rather lavish looking hotel.

* * *

"The girl seems troubled. She was deep in thought when we literally ran into each other. I recognized her immediately from the files given to us by the F.B.I agent tailing the boy. Do you think she could be of assistance," the same old man Noriko had bumped into asked as he set down a tray of cakes and cookies.

"Maybe," another voice answered. It belonged to a thin, black haired man that was crouched on a chair staring at the brightly lit screen of a laptop that was set up on a small table in front of him.

'I wonder if she knows what Light Yagami is doing..If she does would she say so... My guess is no, at least not to someone she didn't trust,' the man thought as he grabbed a cookie with his thumb and pointer finger before placing the whole thing into his mouth.

"Watari, how do you suppose one would go about winning the trust of a female?"


	13. Chapter 13 Blinded

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note...Did you know that lawyers make really funny noises when you tell them that right is wrong and left is right? It overloads their brains...Feed smart people strange lines that make no sense and it's funny to see the reaction... I ramble a lot. Sorry.

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**Chapter 13**

**Blinded**

A few days later, Noriko lie in her bed staring at the ceiling. It had been about a week since the woman, Naomi Misora, had disappeared and still there was no trace of the woman.

A frown creased her features as she snatched her phone off her desk and dialed a line was picked up almost immediately.

"Hey, we haven't gotten to spend much time together lately, soo how about a cup of coffee?" she asked.

She paused as she waited for an answer and smiled when she received a yes. "Ok, I'll meet you at the coffee house that's just around the corner," she replied, snapping her phone shut.

She slipped off her bed and put her coat on over the gray t-shirt she wore. Grabbing her black sneakers she then made her way out of the house and to the little brown coffee house just down the block.

Noriko took a seat in the corner of the little coffee shop away from the prying eyes of the other occupants and people milling about outside. A smile lit her face as she saw the person she was waiting for approach the shop. She waved jovially to catch their attention and stood up as they entered the shop.

"Hey," she said as she gave the newcomer a tight hug.

"Hi. So what's this all about, Noriko?"

"Hmm. Well I had a question," she answered, sitting back down and eying the table.

"What is it?"

"Can we get coffee first?" she asked, faking a smile.

There was soft sigh in response. "Fine."

Noriko waved a young girl over and ordered herself a soy latte, while her company just ordered a coffee.

There were no words spoken as the two waited for the arrival of their coffees. Noriko stared down at the table, avoiding any type of eye contact and fiddled with her hands. The male across from her nervous form just watched her curiously.

"Here you go," the waitress said, setting their beverages before them.

"So what was the question Nori?"

Noriko frowned and took a small sip of her drink to give herself time to think of a way to phrase her inquiry. "On New Year's I was out walking around. You know me, always had to walk in the snow or run in the rain. I wound up downtown near the police headquarters..." She trailed off for a moment still not meeting the gaze of the brown eyed boy across from her.

"I saw you with that woman, Light," she said quietly, finally bringing her green eyes up to look into the surprised brown eyes of the handsome Light. "She went missing that day, did you know that?"

"No, I didn't," Light replied a little too quickly.

Noriko raised a brow at him. "Why were you talking with her?"

"I went to drop off clothes for my dad, but he wasn't in his office. She was there trying to talk to someone from the Kira task force. I had told her who I was and offered to let her talk to my dad when he called me back since I had called and left him a message about his clothes. She seemed pretty upset, so we decided to take a walk and talk," he answered smoothly, bringing his coffee to his lips to sip it delicately.

"Is that so?" Noriko mused.

"Yes, why what did you think? I was cheating on you," Light replied chuckling softly.

"No. I trust you and don't think you'd do that. She was engaged to one of the F.B.I agents that died, wasn't she?"

Light's face remained impassive, but Noriko knew better. She could see him thinking behind his beautiful dark eyes. See that he was trying to figure out what to say and how to find out what else she had heard.

"Yes she was. That's why she was upset. She seems to think that her fiance had come in contact with Kira," Light replied as he ran a hand through his brown hair.

"I see. So then she was telling you her theories I take it?"

"How long did you spy on us, Noriko," Light asked, she could hear the disapproval in his tone but ignored it.

"I overheard part of your conversation while I was in the park sitting on a bench. I had been thinking about that picnic when it had begun to rain on us. Anyways, I heard you talking, but couldn't really make out what you were saying. I did follow you for a little while though, but not close enough to hear what was being said. I overheard the last little bits after I walked back into the park," Noriko answered easily, her eyes locked on his.

"It's nothing to worry about, Noriko. I was just trying to help. She was upset over losing her fiance and had a few ideas about the Kira case. She had the same idea as you actually," he told her.

"What idea?" Noriko asked, confused.

"That Kira can kill by other means than a heart attack," Light replied casually sipping his coffee after he crossed his legs in front of him.

"Why would she think that," she asked curiously.

Light seemed to hesitate for a moment before replying. "Apparently, he was put into a situation where he had to show his ID to someone in order to help. There was an accident of some sort at the subway station."

This piqued her interest. "What situation?"

"Is this twenty questions or something, Nori? I thought you wanted to spend time together," Light said some what irritated with her and her questions.

"I do, but do you?" she asked, turning her gaze to the table and taking a drink of her latte.

Light raised a delicate eyebrow at the girl across from him. "Of course, it's just that with entrance exams coming up I'm trying to focus on studying. What's really up, Noriko?" Light asked sensing that there was more that she wasn't saying.

"It's just that you're keeping something from me. Don't try and say you're not I know that you are. We've known each other forever Light, it's hard for us to lie to each other or hide things from each other for a long period of time," Noriko answered, her auburn hair falling in her face as her head drooped sadly.

Light frowned at her. "I love you, Nori," he said quietly. He reached across the table to take her hand in his and squeeze it.

"I love you too."

"There's something else bothering you isn't there," Light asked when she still hadn't looked up at him.

"Yes," she said quietly. "The day on the bus, did you know the agent was tailing you?"

Light seemed surprised by the question and very nearly spilled his coffee on to his beige jacket. "What are you talking about," he asked quickly.

"That agent was most likely tailing you. It makes sense. It seemed like Kira had information only the police should have access to. Meaning, either Kira was in the police force or he was close to someone who was. Having the police investigated makes perfect sense," she explained, her gaze on the steaming beverage before her.

"You've been thinking about this a lot. It does make sense, but what are you getting at?"

"You saw that man's ID. You had everything Kira would need to kill that man," Noriko paused and frowned.

'Just what am I getting at? I don't even know,' she thought to herself.

"You're wondering if I'm Kira," Light asked her.

"I don't know," she said, shaking her head. "So much has happened in the last few weeks and none of it makes any damn sense."

"You're worrying too much, Noriko," Light said softly. "You need to relax."

"What about L?" she asked suddenly, looking up into his face.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he had access to all the names and information. Don't you think it's strange that he brings in outside help that only he knows about and then they wind up dead," she asked.

"It is strange, but it would also be the most obvious answer. I don't think it's the right one though, L wants justice, but I don't think he'd kill innocent people to get it," Light answered.

Noriko winced slightly when he had said innocent people. "I'm sorry, Light," she said softly, hanging her head over the table, ashamed by her insinuations that he could possibly be Kira.

"Sorry for what? It's perfectly understandable, I can see where you came to the conclusion that I might be Kira, but I assure you I'm not," he replied with a warm, reassuring smile.

"You have been hiding something from me though, haven't you?" she questioned sadly.

She felt his grip on her hand tighten for a moment.

"I have," he replied quietly.

Noriko brought her head up to look into his eyes, she hadn't expected him to finally admit it. "What," she pleaded.

Light frowned and looked away from her.

"What," she asked again, pulling her hand from his grasp and staring pleadingly at him.

It took him a moment to reply. "Not here, let's take a walk," he said, giving her a smile and holding his hand out to her.

She smiled back as best she could and took the offered hand.

"Well," she asked impatiently after they had exited the little shop.

Light took her hand in his and smiled reassuringly down at her. "Be patient would you," he teased.

"No," she grumbled.

They walked to Light's house which was little more than two blocks away.

"I thought we were going on a walk, not to your house," Noriko stated.

"We are," he said, opening the gate and holding her for her.

"Then why are we here?" She was growing more and more impatient with each passing second. Standing in front of the door, she folded her arms stubbornly over her chest and stared expectantly at him.

"Just wait here," he told her with a sigh and a shake of his head as he entered his house and shut the door behind him.

"Wait here, who does he think he is," Noriko grumbled, kicking at the ground stubbornly.

Light walked up to his room and casually opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small object. The object was a box that he quickly popped open and then snapped shot quickly after making sure that the item inside was in place. He gingerly placed the object in his coat pocket, making sure it was visible to the cameras that were hidden about his room as he did so. A minute later Light reemerged from the house, a small smile on his face.

"What," Noriko snapped at him.

He just rolled his eyes, grabbed her hand and led her away from the house.

They walked for a few more minutes before walking into a small, deserted park. The walkways were lined with cherry trees and benches. It was quite peaceful as they walked hand in hand through the park. There were few other people in the park, it looked like most of them were couples lounging around and talking happily.

Light led her to one of the benches a little way into the park where there was less people and sat down.

She remained standing, arms crossed stubbornly over her chest, and a single eyebrow raised as she looked at him. Light sighed and grabbed one of her arms tugging her to the bench and then pulling her down next to him before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Well," she pressed again.

"Are all women as impatient as you," he asked her.

She poked him in the ribs and gave him small glare.

"I suppose it doesn't matter really," he said as he rubbed at where she had poked him.

"Oh, and why is that?" she asked impatiently.

"Well, I was going to wait until gradation but..." he said and trailed off.

"But what, dammit," Noriko demanded.

Light smiled warmly at her and reached into his coat pocket.

Noriko felt her eyes grow big and her jaw drop when she saw the little box in his hands.

"What's... that," she asked slowly and uncertainly.

He gingerly flipped the box open and Noriko nearly fell to the ground when she saw the contents. Her whole body felt like it was suddenly made of jello.

"It's a ring," Light replied as he lifted the white gold band out of the box.

It was absolutely stunning, it had small black and white diamonds in a wave like design that was simple yet beautiful.

"Whhhyyy?" Noriko asked slowly eyes glued to the ring in Light's hands.

Light brought his other hand up and placed it under Noriko's chin, he slowly made her look up and meet his eyes.

"I love you Noriko," he said quietly.

She was speechless, her mind was blank, and she couldn't force herself to return the sentiment since she was pretty sure she had lost the ability to speak coherently.

"I wanted to ask if you'd-"

"Oh, hey Light," a female voice cut in.

Noriko snapped out of the trance she was in and looked at the new arrival. Her face flushed in anger as she saw that it was none other than Kimiko. She had to take a deep breath in order to restrain herself from jumping up and tackling the girl to the ground.

"Hi Kimiko, was there something you wanted I was busy" Light replied as kindly as he could although the irritation in his voice was still very noticeable.

"I was just-" Kimiko stopped abruptly when she saw the ring in Light's hands.

The girls eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed as she looked from Light to Noriko and then back to Light.

"You look like a fish Kimiko. Spit it out and then get lost," Noriko spat harshly.

"I was just going to see if Light wanted to join me for some coffee," she said putting on a smile that faltered slightly as she spoke.

"No," Noriko answered before Light even had a chance to open his mouth.

"It really is a shame. You'd think he would want some intellectual company once in a while," Noriko replied.

Noriko started to rise, but found herself pulled forcefully back down on to the bench. She growled at Light, but quickly turned her attention back to the girl in front of her.

"Let me guess, you think that intellect is what the football team taught you, right?" Noriko said through clenched teeth.

Kimiko's eyes hardened and her smile wavered.

"Ok, that's enough you two," Light cut in before either girl tried to kill each other. "Kimiko, I'm not interested. Now could you please go, I was in the middle of something important."

Kimiko pouted at Light, who just sighed and rolled his eyes. Noriko tried to stand up again but was pulled right back down on to her butt by Light who was still gripping the back of her coat.

"Fine, but if you change your mind just let me know," Kimiko said as she turned away and waved at Light.

Completely forgetting the fact that Light still had a ring in his hand, Noriko tried once again to lunge at the girl only to wind up looking like a complete idiot when she couldn't move and her hands grasped at thin air. Light had a firm grip around her waist now and wasn't letting go.

"Let me at her," Noriko whined angrily. "I'm gonna kill her."

"No you're not. You're gonna sit there and be quite," Light ordered.

Noriko looked over at him and tried pouting. "Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please. I won't kill her, just... maim her."

"No, Nori."

"You're no fun," she huffed dramatically as she crossed her arms over her chest indignantly.

"Sorry, but I'd prefer that my future wife didn't kill people," he said calmly.

"I said I wouldn't kill heeeerrrr," she said drawing out the last word as she began to look confused, "Wait, what," Noriko asked, as she turned towards Light her face blank. She had forgotten that he had been in the process of giving her a ring.

"I said I'd prefer that my-"

"Are you proposing to me?" Noriko asked her surprise evident on her face.

"I was trying."

"Well do it again. I wasn't paying attention," Noriko ordered uncrossing her arms and throwing them in the air before settling them in her lap.

"Noriko will you marry me?" Light asked as he grasped her hands in his and slipped the ring on her finger.

Noriko's jaw dropped, she had honestly thought he was kidding.

She stared down at the ring that sat on her finger, sparkling in the afternoon sun.

'I thought it was just like a promise ring or something, I wasn't expecting that...Oh, crap what do I say!?' she thought frantically while looking at the ring with wide eyes.

Light grinned as she stared at the ring in awe, she had completely forgotten about the reason why she had asked to meet him.

'She's mine now,' he thought. 'She'll have no reason to doubt me ever again.'

* * *

Please review!


	14. Chapter 14 New Developments

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note...

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**Chapter 14**

**New Developments**

"Oh my god," Noriko breathed eyes still glued to the ring that had been placed on her finger.

"Well," Light asked.

"Seriously," she asked, looking up at him.

He nodded.

"Holy crap," she muttered still not quite believing what was going on.

"Noriko, focus," Light said to her with a chuckle.

"Huh, oh right. Uhhhhh, seriously," she asked again.

"Seriously, now will you marry me or not? I might change my mind if-"

"Yes," she squealed in delight, as she threw her arms around him, causing them to nearly topple off the bench.

"Good, but I can't breathe," Light choked as he embraced her.

"Sorry," Noriko said, blushing slightly as she released him from her death grip.

"Don't worry about it," Light replied, pretending to be gasping for air.

"So this is what you've been hiding," Noriko asked.

"Yes, I was going to wait until after the entrance exams when we would be celebrating making it in to To-Oh but I just can't seem to hide anything from you," Light said with a sheepish grin.

"I wasn't expecting this," she said wiggling her fingers around happily.

"Really, it wasn't obvious or anything," he teased.

Noriko pouted slightly before laughing and leaning onto Light's shoulder.

"Are you happy Noriko," Light asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"I remember you telling your dad we would never get married," he said.

"Yeah, well I was wrong apparently," she replied.

"What was that?"

"I said that I was apparently wrong," she repeated.

"I still didn't-"

"Oh, knock it off you," Noriko replied sitting up and playfully punching his shoulder with a smile.

"Couldn't resist," Light said placing a soft kiss on her head.

She leaned over on his shoulder again and sighed. She was perfectly content in that moment and never wanted it to end. So of course that's when her phone began to ring.

"What the hell," she mumbled as she felt around in her purse.

Finally finding the phone, she stared at the blank caller I.D in confusion.

'Strange,' she thought as she flipped it open.

"Hello."

"Oh I'm sooo happy," a voice screeched in her ear. Noriko winced and held the phone away from her ear.

"You've got to be kidding," Noriko groaned into the phone.

"Why would I be kidding dear," her dad asked.

"You know what I'll talk to you later because, well, just because," she said before pulling the phone away from her ear and beginning to hang it up.

"Wait," her dad called.

Noriko sighed. "What is it?"

"Can I walk you down the aisle," he asked innocently.

Noriko rolled her eyes, and sighed in exasperation. "Bye."

"Hey, but-"

Noriko flipped the phone shut, abruptly ending the call.

"Who was that," Light asked curiously.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said.

Light raised an eyebrow at her, but decided not to ask questions at the moment. He figured the chuckling shinigami behind him might be bribed into telling him why he always seemed so amused whenever he was around Noriko. It hadn't started out as amusement, at first the shinigami seemed a bit perturbed by the girl, as if there was something he just couldn't understand about her.

"Let's go back to my house, it's a bit cold out here," Light said as he stood up.

"Ok," Noriko agreed standing up and quickly kissing Light on the cheek before grabbing his arm.

"Promise me one thing though," Light said to her as they walked.

"What?"

"No more worrying about this Kira stuff, you're stressing yourself out. You need to focus on school, and planning our wedding," Light told her, a small grin on his face.

"Agreed," she sighed. "I don't really want to think about it anyways. Just be careful."

"What do you mean," Light asked, confused.

"I know you well enough to know that you probably want to help capture Kira and that being the case, I'm sure you'll manage to finangle your way into the task force sooner or later," she replied.

Light smiled. 'At least she won't be surprised when that happens,' he thought.

"I'll be careful," he said kissing the top of her head.

"Good. Now no more of that," she chirped.

They reached Light's house and just as they walked in the front door Sayu came running out of the kitchen to announce that Light was late. When she saw Noriko she smiled and ran back to the kitchen to tell her mom that Noriko would be joining them for dinner.

"No actually I'm not-"

"As long as you don't mind mom," Light said as he walked past Noriko who was trying to object, but was being ignored.

"Not at all," Mrs Yagami said happily as she came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on a cloth.

"Thank you Mrs Yagami," Noriko told the woman.

"We haven't seen you around much lately, how are you feeling," the kind woman asked.

"Fine, thank you," she answered as she took off her jacket and hung it on the rack near the door.

"Oh, Noriko what happened," Sayu called worriedly.

"To what," Noriko asked looking around in confusion.

"Your arm," Sayu answered pointing at Noriko's right arm.

"Oh, just had a little accident," she replied quickly. "You know me, I'm a klutz."

Noriko mentally cursed herself. She had been in such a rush to get of the house she hadn't thought about changing into a long sleeved shirt to hide the obvious healing cut on her arm. It had mostly healed, but the skin was still bright pink and raised. There was going to be a definite scar on her arm, and she wasn't too pleased with the idea.

"Oh dear, how on earth did you do that," Mrs Yagami asked concerned as she came out of the kitchen having heard Sayu's remark.

Noriko glanced up at Light for help, but he was just standing there looking rather frustrated.

"I had a mishap in the kitchen, I was trying to make coffee while half asleep and I accidentally dropped the pot, which just so happened to made of glass. Needless to say the coffee spilled and being as graceful as I am, I slipped and sliced my arm. It's fine though really," Noriko tried assuring them. She placed her left hand over the scar to try and hide it, but then realized that might have been a bad idea when Sayu squealed in delight and Mrs Yagami gasped before looking at Light who was now smiling at her, and then back to Noriko who was turning bright red.

"Oh my god, you're engaged," Sayu cried in delight, running at Light and hugging him tightly.

"When did this happen," Mrs Yagami asked surprised, but not angry.

"About a half an hour ago," Noriko replied as she nervously rubbed at her neck with her right hand since her left was currently trapped in Mrs Yagami's grasp.

"I would have told you guys my plans, but figured Sayu wouldn't be able to keep her mouth shut," Light said with a shrug.

"Hey!" Sayu cried in offense.

"Well congratulations dear," Mrs Yagami said to her, hugging her affectionately. "Your father would be so happy."

Noriko smiled. "I don't doubt it."

"Come on let's eat. Then we should call Mr Yagami and tell him the good news," Mrs Yagami said happily.

"We're going to be sisters," Sayu cheered as she grabbed Noriko's arm and began tugging her towards the kitchen.

She smiled down at the girl and glanced back to see Light following along behind them smiling happily.

L watched the monitors before him and frowned. He knew the girl was lying about the cut on her arm. It looked fairly recent, which she hadn't denied, but if what she said was true and she slipped and fell, how would she have cut the inside of her arm? It just wasn't likely, that and she had no burns from the hot coffee that had caused her to slip.

'What is she hiding,' he thought.

He continued to watch the monitors before him as the Yagami's daughter noticed the ring on Noriko's hand.

Mr Yagami was smiling happily at the sight of his family and the flustered Noriko that was being tugged towards his kitchen by his overly excited daughter.

"I believe congratulations are in order Mr Yagami," L said blandly to the police chief besides him as he reached for a sugar cube out of the little bowl beside him.

"Thank you Ryuzaki. I'm happy for both of them. Noriko needs some more happiness in her life, I'm glad she's found that with Light," the man replied.

"Yes, it's a very good thing," L mumbled as he placed yet another sugar cube on his tongue and licked at his fingers.

'I don't think this will be as easy as I was hoping. With them being engaged she'll be less likely to trust anyone else, she doesn't need to now after all,' he thought sourly as the sugar cube dissolved.

"Please excuse me," L said as he stood up from his crouched position in the padded office chair he had been occupying.

He wandered down the hall before opening a door that lead to yet another room in the large suite.

"Ryuzaki what is it," Watari asked as he glanced up the young man before him.

"Light Yagami is engaged," he stated monotonously, while he slouched and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I see. It'll be more difficult to get close to her if that's the case," Watari replied.

"Yes, yes it will," L said thoughtfully as he rocked himself slowly on the heels of his feet.

"What are you going to do," Watari asked.

L appeared to be thoughtful for a moment, removing one hand from his pocket to scratch at the top of his head.

"Win," he replied with a shrug before turning and slouching out of the room.

The next week and a half passed quickly for Noriko. She spent most of her time holed up in Light's room or her own preparing to take the college entrance exams that were now only one day away.

"Seriously, I can't wait for all this studying to be over," Noriko groaned dramatically.

Light smiled at her. "Just wait until we get into To-Oh, then what will you do?"

Noriko moaned and covered her face with her hand. Light laughed at her overly dramatic responses.

"Come on, it's getting late and you need to get some rest for tomorrow," Light said as he stood up from his desk and walked to were Noriko was sprawled out across his bed.

"You mean you're kicking your future wife out," she asked in mock disbelief.

"No, I'm kicking out the future college student that should rest before the exams tomorrow."

"Do I have to," Noriko whined.

"Yes, now come on I'll walk you home."

"Fine," she drawled before lifting her arms and smiling at him.

With a sigh, Light grabbed her outstretched hands and pulled her up off his bed with a little more force than necessary. Noriko hadn't expected the extra amount of force and found herself pressed tightly against Light who now had her held around the waist possessively.

She looked up into his brown eyes, curious as to what he was doing.

He slowly bent his head down and kissed her tenderly. Noriko's eyes fluttered closed as she forgot about everything else but them and the single passionate kiss they were sharing.

Light pulled away and leaned his forehead against hers, hers eyes were still closed and a soft smile was on her face.

"I love you Noriko. I will never let you go," Light whispered.

"You had better not," she replied quietly.

* * *

Thanks to xValeskax for pointing out the fact that I had a line mix up in the last chapter, and then dealing with my sleep deprived brain when I thought she meant something else entirely!

Anyways, I didn't get the 20 reviews but I'm not complaining because 19 still rocks! So thanks go out to... firewaterearthwind, Seengot, Phantom's Bride, iiceangel3.o, reikat, anihana, Andrea Tyler, TheSilentArtist, Kunoichi of Havoc, LolitaAce, Xkeeping.faythX, xValeskax, snowcakes, SimonCatGirl, justakid123, Princesa de la Luna, Mellolicious, barrendreamscapes, and the anonymous Tenchi Hikari...That's alot to type...THANK YOU for reviewing!

Now do it again! Please? I'll update for you! I'll be updating Monday or Tuesday(my bday -squeal-) no matter what though.


	15. Chapter 15 Familiar Stranger

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note.

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**Chapter 15**

**The Familiar Stranger**

Noriko fiddled nervously with her pencil and chewed at her bottom lip. It was the first day of the entrance exams and she was a nervous wreck as she let her eyes scan the pages. Tests weren't hard for her, but this one was just so important that she felt an incredible amount of pressure to do well, and she never did well under pressure.

'Calm down. It's just a test. It's not like it's determining your future,' she thought to herself sarcastically, hanging her head and suppressing a small groan.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for a moment, she calmed her nerves as best she could and started the test that was on the desk before her.

She was in one of four testing rooms, surrounded by at least a hundred students she didn't know. There wasn't a single familiar face and she really wished she could have been in the same room as Light, so she could at least recognize someone, but he was two doors down in another room.

* * *

'Finally,' she sighed internally, filling in the last answer she needed to complete for the day.

Closing the exam booklet, she sighed and set her pencil down besides the test. She had finished about a half an hour early and was going to have to wait until the remaining time was up to leave the room.

She fidgeted as the minutes seemed to crawl by slower than a snail and was beginning to grow rather annoyed when the instructor finally called out that all pencils were to be set down and the tests were to be passed forward.

Noriko turned and was handed two exams from the two people behind her, she added hers to the pile and handed them to the girl that was in front of her.

Once the instructor had gathered all the exams, they were allowed to leave. Waiting for the majority of the crowd to leave the room before she left too, Noriko wondered how she had done on the exam.

"Don't worry I'm sure you did well," her father said cheerily as he appeared besides her when she stood to exit the room.

She frowned and swatted at the air where her father's face was.

"That's not very nice you know," he whined, rubbing at his nose as if she had actually hurt him.

Noriko rolled her eyes in exasperation. Her father had been popping up on an almost daily basis over the past few weeks and it was beginning to get a little annoying. She loved her father and was glad to see him, but him being invisible to everyone but her made it a bit difficult to not feel like a crazy person whenever he popped in for a visit.

The brightness of the sun outside the exam was a big change from the pale artificial light of the exam room and it caused Noriko to be momentarily blinded by the brightness. Taking a step forward, she paused for a moment to regain her bearings only to wind up crying out when someone collided with her right arm. She stumbled awkwardly and would have fallen, but was stopped from falling over completely by a strong, white sleeved arm that was now wrapped around her waist. Looking at the arm quizzically, she glanced up to a strikingly familiar man. He had thick black hair, that was somewhat long and disheveled, dark eyes that blended into the blackness of his pupils and pale skin but not to an unhealthy extent. It was the black rings around his eyes that gave off the impression that he hardly slept that struck Noriko most of all.

Blinking up at him for a few seconds before snapping out of her stupor and blushing at herself, Noriko stuttered out an apology. "I-I'm sorry," she choked out, taking a step away from the dark eyed stranger.

He shrugged at her apology, stuffing his hands into his pockets and glancing down at the ground. She followed his eyes and muttered a few curses. At her feet was the entire contents of her purse, how it had spilled she had no clue because she still had the bag in her hands.

She knelt down and began to pick up the fallen items, the stranger followed suit and crouched down on his feet and helped.

"You really don't have to help, but thank you." Noriko offered an embarrassed smile to her eccentric rescuer.

"It's not a problem," he replied in a quiet mumble

She noted the curious way he picked things up, he held things using his thumb and index finger, almost as if he were afraid to actually touch anything. He handed her a few papers that had fallen and her cell phone.

"I'm Noriko by the way," she said, trying to make conversation.

"Ryuga," the man responded disinterestedly without looking up.

"I don't suppose we've met before have we," she inquired hesitantly.

"I don't believe so."

"You look familiar is all," she explained. Putting the last of the items into her bag and standing up, she wasn't sure what to say or do and settled for shifting her weight from foot to foot when the man finally looked up at her. "Sorry about that, and thanks for helping me." She was feeling a little odd with the lack of speaking they were doing, it was like he was more interested in staring at her with his dark eyes, as if reading a book.

"There you are Ryuga," an accented male voice called.

Ryuga turned around, shoving his hands in his pocket and slouching forward.

"Yes, what is it, Watari," Ryuga asked.

"Watari," Noriko repeated, surprised.

"Oh, hello young lady. Noriko, wasn't it," the elderly man asked as he stepped passed Ryuga, giving her a bright smile.

"Yes," she replied, before falling silent, unsure of what to say.

"We should be going, Watari," Ryuga said to the elderly man before turning back to her. "It was nice meeting, Noriko."

"Uh, you too," she answered lamely.

"It was a pleasure seeing you again, Noriko," Watari told her with a small. The man then seemed to hesitate, lost in thought for a moment. "You know since you two will be attending the college, we should have tea sometime. It would be a good chance for Ryuga to get to know people here."

"I'd love to," she answered with a smile of her own. She wasn't lying either, she was quite curious about the strange young man and why he seemed familiar to her.

"Only if there's cake," Ryuga spoke up, even though he looked a little irritated at not having been consulted first.

Noriko laughed at the random comment, Ryuga just looked at her oddly.

"There's a pretty nice coffee shop near my house, which isn't too far, they have excellent pastries," Noriko suggested.

"I like pastries," Ryuga replied.

"Well, it sounds like that's a yes. When are you free dear," Watari asked.

"Huh, oh well, um, usually in the evenings after class or the weekends."

"How about tomorrow," Ryuga interjected suddenly.

"Um...Ok," she shrugged, it seemed a bit sudden, but she didn't have plans and Light usually spent the day holed up in his room.

"Where is this coffee shop, Noriko," Watari asked.

She told him where it was and they confirmed a time, noon tomorrow.

"Noriko," she heard Light to call her.

"Oh I've gotta go. It was a pleasure meeting you Ryuga and I'll see you two tomorrow," she said before turning and running off.

"Who were you talking to," he asked her as she approached him, he was watching as the two men walked away.

"Watari and Ryuga. I'm meeting them for tea tomorrow, would you like to go?"

Light shook his head. "Do you know them?"

"Well I sort of ran into both of them, literally. I met Watari on New Years and then Ryuga just now."

"And you're having tea with them?"

"I figured it would be fine, I mean you do usually stay home on Sunday. Apparently Ryuga doesn't know many people around here and Watari, who sort of seems like his dad, suggested it."

Light frowned. Something was telling him to let her go, he felt that there was more to Ryuga than met the eye.

"I could always cancel. Oh, actually, I didn't get either one of their numbers."

"No, you should go. You don't have many friends and I'll be busy anyways," Light replied.

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all."

"Ok, you're not upset at me for making plans without asking are you," she asked Light, sounding a little put out.

"No, I don't own you Nori. You can do whatever you want to, I trust you if that's what you're getting at."

"Good," she answered curtly. For some reason she thought he didn't seem too happy about her accepting the invitation to tea, but she didn't see the problem. They would all soon be fellow students if all went well and they might as well make new friends. That and she was curious about the stranger.

"I think I'm going to head home Light. I'm pretty tired and really just want to lay in my bed and listen to some music," Noriko said as her and Light walked hand in hand down the street towards his house.

"I'll walk you," he offered.

"Ok. So what are you going to be doing tomorrow? Do you want me to stop by or would you like to just be alone for the day?"

"I think I'd like to be alone for the day. I need to finish up a few assignments that I haven't gotten around to yet," Light replied.

"Alright. I'll give you a call sometime though, ok?"

"Ok. Good night, Noriko," Light said, kissing her lips gently and smiling.

"Good night Light," she answered before turning and walking into her house.

She walked up to her room and tossed her bag on the floor by her desk before flipping on her stereo. She had been listening to Paramore the night before so the cd continued where it left off and the song 'Fences' began to play over the speakers. The song was one of her favorites and she flopped onto her bed as it played.

"That Ryuga seems like an interesting person."

Noriko sighed and rolled her eyes. "Is there a reason why you keep popping up everyday lately?"

"I just want to make sure my little girl's ok," her father responded cheerily.

She looked over at him with a raised brow. "I'm fine. Just like earlier."

"No need to be so grouchy," Kiyoshi complained.

"I'm not being grouchy, dad," she replied sarcastically. "But I am being haunted and it gets a little old."

"You don't like me being around?"

"That's not what I said. Shouldn't you be resting in peace or something," she asked.

He shrugged. "Being dead isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"Did you seriously just say that?"

"Yes."

"What's wrong with being dead, aside from the obvious?"

He sighed and shook his head. "There has been a lot of unrest lately among the dead."

Noriko tweaked a brow at his choice of words but didn't say anything as her father sat on her desk chair and turned to look at her.

"It's not for you to worry about though," he said suddenly with a bright smile.

Noriko frowned, "You had told me before about me getting involved in a battle of sorts..."

"Yes, I had," he replied somberly.

"Does it involve Kira?" she asked.

Her father frowned, but nodded slowly.

"Why can't I remember the dreams I've been having?"

"You'll remember when you need too I suppose. Although I don't believe that there's anything to worry about in them," her father replied.

Noriko didn't responded just sat staring blankly up at her ceiling.

"That Ryuga boy," her father said suddenly, so suddenly that Noriko jumped.

"What about him," she asked irritably.

"Have you seen him before?"

"I thought he seemed familiar, but I don't know why I can't place him. There's something strange about him though," she replied thoughtfully.

"Yes," her father mused. "He's handsome don't you think?"

The cheeriness in his voice caused her to look at him funny and wrinkle her nose.

"I suppose," she answered. "I hadn't really noticed."

"Oh."

"Why?"

"No reason," Kiyoshi replied quickly, flashing Noriko a quick smile.

"What are you up to?"

"Me! Up to something. Never," he answered dramatically.

"Uh huh," Noriko replied.

"Have fun on your date tomorrow," her dad said teasingly as he stood up from her chair.

"It's not a date, I'm engaged remember," Noriko answered, shoving her hand out at him and wiggling her ring finger.

Her father winked at her and disappeared in a cool breeze of fresh air.

"I swear he's insane," she mumbled after he had disappeared. "Oh wait that's me because I see dead people."

'Seriously need to get my head checked,' she thought to herself after making the comment.

* * *

BEEP BEEP BEEP

-CRASH-

"Stupid, annoying, piece of crap," Noriko grumbled from under her blanket after throwing one of her pillows at her alarm clock.

She muttered strings of curses when she realized it had been her comfortable pillow and that the one she was currently laying on was rather flat.

With an exaggerated sigh, she threw the blanket off herself and squinted at the early morning brightness pouring in her window.

"Stupid sun," she mumbled stepping out of bed and grabbing the pillow she had thrown as well as the clock that was dangling from her dresser.

"Crap!" she shouted when she noticed the time. "Stupid time."

It was currently just after 11 am and Noriko needed to be out of the house in forty five minutes if she wanted to make it to the coffee shop on time.

Grumbling a long line of curses, she made her way to her bathroom and took a quick shower, while trying to wake up and let the grogginess wash off her.

Stumbling back to her room, she dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a rather cute black top that had short sleeves and was open from her throat to her chest. It reminded her of the styles worn by women at the turn of the century, the way there was a little bit of lace gathered in vertical lines over her chest. The top was snug around her chest, but fitted more loosely past her bust and hung about an inch passed the waist of her jeans.

She glanced at the clock and ran back to her bathroom. She brushed out her hair and pulled half of it back and secured it with a clip, her bangs that didn't go into the clip fell freely around her face.

Walking back to her room she grabbed her coat, purse, and a pair of black slip on shoes that resembled ballet slippers only with more of a sole.

"I'm going to be late. What a great impression," she mumbled as she headed out of the house and towards the little coffee shop.

She wandered into the shop a few minutes passed noon and when she didn't see the two people she was meeting she got a little confused and glanced at the clock on her phone.

"Noriko, glad you made it," Watari greeted her out of nowhere.

"Sorry for being late, I woke up later than usual," she apologized as he led her to a table towards the back of the little shop.

Watari pulled out a chair for her and she sat down before looking across and seeing that Ryuga was sitting in an odd crouch, his knees pulled up towards his chest and his toes dangling off the edge of his chair.

She looked at him oddly for a moment before figuring it was just a weird quirk. It wasn't like she didn't have any, she liked to sit cross legged almost all the time, including now.

"You're engaged," Ryuga asked, well it seemed more like a statement to Noriko, and it had caught her off guard.

She blinked at him before noticing he was pointing a finger at her hand. "Oh, yes. I am," she confirmed.

"Congratulations I suppose," he offered although he didn't sound very enthusiastic.

The waitress came to take their orders a few moments later and Noriko had to resist the urge to gape at Ryuga who had ordered coffee and she was pretty sure at least four types of pastries.

Ryuga didn't seem like the type who talked much so she began talking to Watari, figuring if Ryuga wanted to join in then he would. It was a bit strange though, she felt as if Ryuga's dark eyes were constantly on her, as if trying to decipher a code, but every time she'd glance at him he would be staring off chewing on the tip of his thumb, while his other hand sat firmly on his knee.

"I take it you're not from Japan. You have a slight accent," Noriko observed.

"I was born in England," Watari replied.

"Oh, so you two moved here from England then," she inquired.

"We lived there when Ryuga was younger, we move around a lot."

"I see. The name Ryuga though, it doesn't sound English," Noriko commented.

"It's not," Ryuga said, finally speaking.

Noriko didn't say anything, thinking he was going to elaborate but when he didn't she just nodded and turned back to Watari.

"Are you two related," she asked before suddenly realizing that was a rather rude and really not her business, but she was curious because Watari seemed to be a father figure to Ryuga, but they looked nothing alike and they didn't act alike either. "Sorry that really isn't my business. I was just curious because..."

"It's alright dear," Watari assured her. "We are not related. Ryuga is like a son to me though. I've been taking care of him for a long time."

Noriko nodded her understanding and figured she'd leave it at that and was rather grateful when the waitress arrived with a tray laden with sweets.

A cup of hot tea was placed before Watari, a hot latte before her as well as a type of cinnamon coffee cake, then three dough nuts, a piece of strawberry cake and some other pastry that looked as if it had been covered in sugar was set before Ryuga with a cup of coffee.

"Are you going to eat all of that," she asked him with wide eyes.

"Yes."

"Do you always eat like that?"

"Yes."

"Is he serious," she asked turning to Watari who chuckled at her disbelief.

"He is," the elderly man replied.

"That's not even fair," she grumbled.

"You could have ordered more," Ryuga stated as he took a bite of the cake before him.

Noriko noticed he held the fork the same way he had held the things he had helped her pick up the day before. With his thumb and index finger.

"If I were to eat all that I would one, not sleep for a week, two, I really don't think me and sugar highs go together very well, and three I wouldn't be able to walk out of here without a wheel barrow," Noriko replied.

Ryuga shrugged before taking another bite of his cake.

"I hope you work out a lot or something, because there's no way you're that skinny when you eat like that," Noriko stated.

"I burn a lot of calories thinking," he replied.

"Thinking?"

"Yes, thinking."

There was a short pause as Noriko stared at him, trying to figure out if he was insulting her in some indirect way. Without much care, she blurted out what _she_ was thinking. "You're weird."

Watari chuckled at her while Ryuga looked up from his cake and just stared at her as she sipped at the latte before her casually.

"What," she asked innocently.

"I'm weird," he repeated as his fork hovered over his cake.

"Yes, that's what I said," Noriko answered while smiling at him and taking a bite of the cinnamon pastry before her.

"You're weird," he said, shoving a bite of his cake in his mouth.

"Yes and?" was her uninterested response.

He regarded her with his dark eyes for a moment before shrugging and going back to his cake.

"I think you two will get along just fine," Watari said with a smile.

"What are you doing," she asked Ryuga a moment later as he began to pour sugar into his coffee.

"Putting sugar in my coffee," he stated, not taking his eyes from the steady amount of white that was being poured into the coffee before him. There was so much that the coffee was about to start pouring over the sides of the cup.

"How much sugar do you consume a day," she asked abruptly.

He shrugged in response.

"You wouldn't want to know," Watari replied with a warm chuckle.

Noriko lifted a brow and decided not to ask. It was rather warm in the back of the tea house and she realized she had never removed her coat, shrugging it of she laid over the back of her chair.

She picked up her latte and sipped at it while she watched Ryuga eat all the sugary items before him.

'He certainly is different,' she thought to herself. 'But in a good way, I'm glad I decided to come here. I really like these two so far.'

"What did you do to your arm?"

Noriko jolted slightly at the sudden question and barely escaped slopping coffee on herself. She noticed both Ryuga and Watari looking at her right arm.

'I really need to remember to always wear long sleeved shirts,' she thought, flustered.

"Nothing, just an accident. I'm a klutz," she answered quickly.

She practically jumped through the roof when Ryuga suddenly reached across to pick her wrist up off the table. Using his thumb and pointer finger he lifted her wrist and peered at the scar that went from her wrist to her elbow. He released her wrist and it fell down to the table with a thump.

"Glass," he muttered.

"I'm sorry," she asked.

"It was a piece of glass, wasn't it?"

Noriko blinked at him. "Yeah, I had slammed my medicine cabinet shut and it shattered into the sink. I did this when I was cleaning."

"Really," he said.

Noriko shifted uncomfortably, the way he was looking at her made her feel as if he knew she was lying. What it mattered she didn't know, it was just strange, she felt like she was being silently interrogated by those dark eyes and she didn't really like it.

"So what brought you guys to Japan," she inquired, trying to change the subject.

The rest of their time was spent talking about random things, and Noriko and Ryuga subtly picking on each other. She left the coffee shop a little after two and decided to go for a walk before going home. She had declined the offer from Watari to give her a ride, saying she lived nearby and liked the walk.

Meeting with the two had been an interesting experience but she had a strange feeling about Ryuga. He still seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't figure out why. That and for some reason she felt at ease around him most of the time, the only time she felt odd was when he would ask about things she didn't really want to discuss. Like the scar on her wrist, or her family, he never asked about her being engaged other than the brief mention at the beginning. She was a little curious about that, it almost seemed like he had avoided the topic.

After a few hours of wandering around Noriko went back home and decided to poke around on the internet for awhile.

After losing interest in that she finished up her homework and went to bed early.

The other testing dates were spread out over the next two weekends and Noriko mentally cursed whoever thought that was a good idea. Not only did she and Light have to attend their normal classes for high school, but their weekends were spent holed up in the exam halls taking long, arduous tests.

She would see Ryuga and Watari at the exam halls and would usually chat briefly with them before Light would call her away. She still had the strange sense of knowing Ryuga and the more she talked to him the more comfortable she felt around him. He may have had some really weird quirks but he seemed like a very interesting person.

"Will the tests never end," Noriko moaned as she and Light walked home from school.

It was nearing the end of term and that meant finals. Noriko really wasn't pleased with having to take more tests, but was glad that she would soon be a college bound student.

"Only another week Nori," Light said patting her on the head.

"At least the entrance exams are over, and we can spend the weekend doing nothing," she stated as she looked at Light, who quirked a brow at her, "Ok, fine. I'll do nothing, and you can study."

"How about we both study, and I'll take you out to dinner after the finals are over," Light bargained with her.

"Dinner you say," she repeated, putting a finger under her chin.

Light nodded.

"You have a deal hun," she answered with a smile.

"Good."

* * *

Please review!


	16. Chapter 16 All Good Things

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**All Good Things**

"So tomorrow we become official college students," Noriko said happily.

Light nodded absently as he sat at his desk reading over a magazine. Noriko frowned at him from her spot on the floor by the foot of his bed.

"You don't seem to care," she observed.

"It's no big deal," he answered with a shrug.

"No big deal. Are you kidding? We're starting college and _you_ are giving the freshman address since you scored perfect, as usual, on the exams."

Light shrugged again and Noriko snapped the novel she had been reading shut and crawled over to him. Resting her chin on his leg, she stared up at him, waiting for him to give her his full attention. At first he tried to ignore her, but after a few minutes of being stared at by her bright green eyes, he sighed and looked down at her.

She smiled happily. "You just can't ignore me, can you?"

"No, I can't. You don't make it easy either."

Noriko pouted, before breaking into a fit of giggles.

Light raised a brow at her, curious as to the reason for the sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm supposed to make it easy on you my dear fiance," she told him lovingly.

"Are you really happy, Noriko," Light asked.

Noriko was rather surprised by the question and she looked up at him with confused eyes. "Yes, I am. Why?"

"You've been distant a lot lately."

Noriko frowned. She had been rather spacey lately. Her thoughts were constantly pulled to the dreams that her dad had been waking her up from more and more frequently. The details of the dream always eluded her upon waking and she was beginning to feel as though there was something in those dreams she desperately needed to know. No matter how hard she tried to remember though, she just couldn't recall any of the dreams she knew she was having. All she would remember was her father's soothing voice telling her it was time to wake up. Something told her he always woke her up when something important was happening, and she really wished she knew what and why.

"I'm sorry, I just haven't been sleeping much recently," she answered.

"That's it?" Light questioned skeptically.

"Yeah, I think I'm just anxious about college starting, it's such a big step in our lives."

"You worry too much," he teased, running his fingers through her auburn tresses.

"Lay with me for a little while before I go," she said, standing up and taking his hand in hers.

He stood up when she tugged lightly on his hand and led her to his bed. She climbed beneath the sheets and pulled him down with her. He laid down without no objection and she rested her head on his shoulder as he encircled her with his arm. She curled up against him and wrapped an arm around his torso.

"This is nice," she sighed, closing her eyes.

He kissed the top of her head and brushed his fingers through her hair. It wasn't long before her breathing evened out and she drifted off into sleep.

Noriko hadn't meant to fall asleep, she just wanted to relax and be close to Light, he made her feel so safe and protected that she wanted to have that feeling with her when she went home.

Watching his fiance's chest rise and fall as she lie curled up in the crook of his arm, a feeling of possessiveness washed over Light. She was absolutely beautiful and innocent as she slept peacefully beside him. He would make sure that she stayed beautiful and innocent, he would never let anyone touch her, if they did he would make sure they suffered for ruining the peaceful world he was trying to create not just for himself, but for the girl he loved.

Shorty after Noriko drifted off, Light was lulled into a dreamless sleep by her breathing and the feel of her steady heart beat.

After a few hours of undisturbed rest, Noriko's body began to tense and her breathing grew quicker. Her hand that still lay over Light clutched at his side and her nails dug painfully into his skin beneath the shirt he wore.

Light awoke with a jerk as she held him tightly, with a single glance at her he could tell she was having a bad dream. Her face had paled and a single tear slid from her eye and trailed down her nose to drip onto his shirt.

"Noriko," he whispered softly, brushing some of her hair out of her face.

She didn't respond, only gripped him tighter as if afraid she might lose him if she let go.

"Nori," he said again, a little louder. Her nails were biting into his side and he was pretty she would draw blood if she tightened her grasp anymore.

He still received no response from the dreaming girl.

* * *

It was all familiar. The stacks of boxes, the sloped ceiling, the ring of gunshots, followed by the appearance of people draped in shadow.

"You must choose Noriko," Light said to her.

He was one of the few that she could actually make out. There were others as well, standing around her in silence. She could feel their gazes on her body. Feel the questions they longed to ask her hovering in the air.

They were all the same though. She was supposed to choose, but what her choices were and why she needed to choose was unknown to her.

"Noriko," a familiar voice called to her.

She spun around to face the figure of a man she thought was very familiar to her, but since he was covered in darkness she couldn't place him.

The dream was almost always the same. She would wake up in some strange warehouse, wander around for awhile and then the roar of gunshots would break the silence. After the gun shots the people would appear. It wasn't always the same people, in some cases she thought they were just shadows and nothing more.

There were differences in some of the dreams, but she never remembered them when she awoke. None of them seemed very important anyways. Sometimes she would wander around aimlessly and never encounter anyone, other times she would encounter the strange shinigami she had seen the first time she had the dream. Either way the dreams usually ended with her dad waking her up when the strange people would start to pressure her to choose.

This was different though. She was panicking now, and had begun to run from Light and the shadows that were so eager for her decision. She tried to get herself to wake up but couldn't. So she continued to run. There were shouts behind her, someone calling her name, telling her to wake up, asking if she was alright...

"Noriko!"

She took a deep breath as she was hurled out of the dream and back into reality.

"Noriko, are you all right?"

Noriko blinked dazedly a few times,and glanced up at Light who was regarding her with a worried expression.

"I'm fine," she managed to say though her voice didn't sound reassuring.

"You were having a nightmare," he said to her.

"I don't remember it. I never do," she answered.

"Is that why you haven't been sleeping," he asked.

She nodded slowly, trying to recall anything she could but there was nothing she could remember, except a vague sense of fear and betrayal.

"What time is it," she asked him.

He glanced over to where his clock sat on his desk. "A little after two am."

"I should go home," Noriko said and she began to sit up, intending to get out of the bed.

"You're staying here," Light informed her. He wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from standing.

"But-"

"I'll give you something to sleep in and I'll get you up early enough to go home and get ready before the entrance ceremony," he reassured her, standing up to walk to his closet.

Noriko opened her mouth to argue, but once again Light cut her off.

"You're staying. You're my fiance after all, so it's fine. Go change," he tossed a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt at her.

Seeing that she was still trying to protest, he gave her a warning look and pointed at his door. "You're staying, go change."

"Fine," she grumbled stubbornly as she stood up and quietly made her way to the bathroom that was two doors away from Light's room.

She slipped into the shirt and sweat pants, which were both rather large on her and folded her clothes up. She splashed her face with water and used her finger to brush at her teeth with a small dab of toothpaste.

When she returned to Light's room, he had changed as well and was now wearing a pair of black sweats and no shirt. Noriko tried not to blush, but was pretty sure she failed miserably. Sure, she had seen him without a shirt before, but something about the fact that she was going to be sharing a bed with him while he was shirtless made her nervous.

"Stop gawking."

"It's not my fault I have a hot fiance," she teased. She set her folded clothes next to her purse and took the time she was facing away from to try and stop blushing.

"Just get in bed," he replied.

"Bossy much," she retorted playfully. Turning back to face him, she smiled and headed back to the bed, climbing back under the sheets beside Light.

"Goodnight," Light murmured, kissing her forehead tenderly.

"Night."

They fell asleep soon after, Noriko curled up against Light's chest as he lay on his side, an arm tossed over her waist.

* * *

She was dressed neatly in black knee length slacks with a matching jacket that she wore over a silver, silky top. Her hair had been left down and framed her face in auburn strands that made her bright green eyes even more noticeable in her pale skin.

She wriggled her feet out of the silver heels that had black lace covering much of the silver and gave the heels an elegant, almost gothic, look and wiggled her toes that were now out of the uncomfortable shoes.

'I really do hate heels,' she thought grumpily.

She was sitting with the many other students that had been accepted into the university and listening patiently to the speech of the dean of the school.

She was towards the back and couldn't really make out faces very well, but she could just barely see the top of Light's head. As well as what she was pretty sure was Ryuga's black mass of hair right next to him.

'It would be nice if those two became friends. I kinda like Ryuga, he's a bit odd, but who isn't,' Noriko thought.

Smiling warmly as she recalled how she and Light had fallen asleep together the night before, Noriko thought about how peaceful her sleep had been. Aside from the nightmare, she had gotten the best night's sleep she had had in a long time. A frown pulled at her lips when she recalled the worried look in Light's eyes, she remembered the strange feeling of fear, but didn't know what had made her feel that way.

A proud smile crept on to her face as Light's name was called as one of the freshman representatives. She didn't hear the second representative's name because the students around her began to whisper about Light, the girls saying how cute he was and the boys talking about how lucky he was.

Noriko heard the girl besides her lean over to tell the girl next to her that Light was supposed to be engaged, the girl next to her snorted and made a comment that she didn't care. Usually she wasn't very possessive, but for some reason she felt a tinge of anger at the girl for saying she didn't care that Light was engaged. Maybe it was because after spending the night entwined in each others arms, Noriko felt a need to make it known that the man these girls were gawking at was hers and not theirs.

Frowning, Noriko tapped the girl beside her on the shoulder. The girl turned to look at her curiously, as did her friend.

"I highly suggest you start caring," Noriko said, holding out her left hand as if she wanted to shake hands.

The girls looked horrified and were stuttering out apologies, having noticed the ring that was on her finger and the cold smile she was giving them.

"Hey, he has the same name as the pop idol," a student whispered.

"Who does he think he is coming to the ceremony dressed like that," another said disapprovingly.

Noriko looked up to the podium where Light was giving the freshman address, standing beside him with a paper held in between his thumbs and index fingers was Ryuga in his usual jeans and white long sleeved shirt with ratty tennis shoes slipped on his feet.

She hadn't seen him since the exams and that was almost a month and a half ago. They had established a sort of friendship over the course of the exams, and Noriko was glad to see him again. She wondered where Watari was, she really liked the elderly man, he was always kind and reminded her of a loving grandfather.

'He wore jeans to the entrance ceremony,' she thought, gaping at him. 'Lucky bastard, how did he get away with it.'

Losing interest shortly after, Noriko spaced out for the duration of the speeches and absently twisted the ring on her finger.

'Ugh, finally,' she thought after the the last of the speakers finished their droning speech.

Stretching a little before standing, Noriko looked around for Light and saw him talking with Ryuga. She frowned when she noticed he seemed tense.

She could see Ryuga talking with Light and wondered if they were getting along or not. From the strained look on Light's face she didn't think so.

'Hmmm, I hope it's nothing. I'd really like to hang out together, Ryuga can be quite entertaining,' Noriko thought with a smile as she made her way to the exit.

Once she was outside, she didn't see Light or Ryuga so she walked a little ways from the building so as not to be stuck in the crowds coming out.

"Hello Noriko," a voice greeted kindly from behind her.

She swung around and nearly fell over in the heels, but managed to steady herself and give an embarrassed smile to the person that had greeted her. "Hello Watari. It's nice to see you again," Noriko said as she stepped towards the man and gave a short bow.

"It's a pleasure as always. You look very nice today young lady."

"Yeah, I clean up well," Noriko joked.

"I don't suppose you've seen Ryuga, have you?"

"I did. I must have beat him and Light out here," she answered. She turned back towards the doors that people were still exiting from.

"Light Yagami," Watari asked curiously.

"Yes," Noriko replied with a nod, turning her attention back to the elderly man.

"He was the other freshman representative with Ryuga, correct?"

Noriko nodded.

"How do you know the young man?"

Noriko smiled and held out her left hand. "He's the fiance."

"Ah, I see. Very good choice, he's a smart, good looking boy," Watari replied with a kind smile.

"He is."

"Oh, and I think that's him and Ryuga now," the old man said, glancing passed her.

Sure enough, Light and Ryuga were walking out of the building together. Ryuga was talking about something and Light seemed irritated by the conversation.

Expecting Light to walk over with Ryuga, she turned back to Watari. "Ryuga is one of those odd geniuses, isn't he," Noriko asked.

Watari chuckled.

"I didn't mean that in a bad way. I think some of his oddities are actually quite cute. I mean, um," Noriko stopped talking and hung her head, not having meant to say that. 'I just called him cute and I'm engaged, good job, Noriko,' she chided herself.

"It's alright dear, I know what you meant. Although I think Ryuga has grown rather fond of you, he doesn't-"

"And who asked you, Watari?"

Noriko spun around, surprised by the sudden voice directly behind her. Of course being graceful as she was and in four inch heels, her ankle twisted rather painfully. She glared down at the heels and righted herself before looking up at Ryuga, who was looking at her with a blank, bored look, his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans.

"It's rude to eavesdrop you know," she grumbled, shifting her weight off the ankle she had just twisted. It wasn't sprained or anything thankfully, just sore. The pain would pass in a few minutes she knew, it was after all the fifth time today she had slipped.

"You would think someone as pretty as you would have more natural grace," Ryuga stated plainly before walking passed her to slouch beside Watari.

Noriko followed him with her eyes, not sure what to say to the rather weird insult that was placed with a compliment. She wound up blushing over the compliment, and the insult, before finally coming up with a reply. "Yeah... well you shouldn't sneak up on people," she mumbled lamely.

"I didn't sneak up on you, I walked up behind you," he corrected.

"Close enough," she retorted.

"I fail to see how-"

"Oh, shut up would you."

"I wasn't done-"

"I don't care."

"I don't like being interrupted."

"Yeah, well I don't like lots of things, particularly people, but here I am," she replied waving around at all the people.

"Is this a game of-"

"No it's-"

"Would you stop inter-"

"No it's fu-"

"Ok, you two," Watari cut in with a chuckle.

Both people looked at him.

"How about some tea," Watari asked. "You two can continue your game later."

"Only if there's cake," Noriko piped up when she saw Ryuga open his mouth to talk.

Watari chuckled at her and Ryuga glared at her with his onyx eyes.

She smiled, and made to follow after them, but she stopped abruptly. "Oh, actually I should probably find Light, we're supposed to be going home together," Noriko said.

"He left already," Ryuga replied.

"Huh. Why?" She blinked uncertainly at him.

Ryuga shrugged. "He wasn't feeling well."

"Maybe I should call him," she mumbled, more to herself than anything. Digging her phone from her purse, she flipped it open and punched the speed dial number for Light.

"What," he snapped when he answered her call.

Noriko actually jumped at the harshness in his tone, it had been completely unexpected. "Light are you alright," she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. Where are you, Nori?" he asked harshly.

"I'm outside of the arena with Ryuga and Watari, we were-"

She stopped talking when she thought she heard something break.

"You were what," he barked.

"Light, what the hell is your problem? You left without waiting for me and you're the one snapping at me," Noriko demanded angrily.

"Noriko, now isn't the time, I'm in a bad mood as it is. Meet me at my house, we'll talk-"

"No. You don't own me remember? I don't know what's gotten into you, but I highly suggest you get it out before we talk again. I'm going to have tea with Watari and Ryuga, bye." She flipped her phone shut with a loud snap. When she looked up, Ryuga was staring curiously at her. "What," she asked roughly, straining to keep the angry tears out of her eyes.

Light had never spoken to her so harshly before. Never. She had no idea why he would now, but it upset her, especially after he had left her at the arena. If he wasn't feeling well then fine, but he could have said something to her without biting her head off.

"Sorry," she sighed. "What did you two talk about?"

"Nothing important," Ryuga answered. Shuffling over to the black car that Watari was waiting for them by, he ducked into the black car.

Noriko frowned, following him into the backseat to sit besides him. She noticed he sat in his odd crouch, even in the car. His palms rested on his knees and he was hunched forward slightly.

"He's never spoken to me like that before," she admitted sadly. Staring at her hands, she flexed her fingers and watched the movement.

'So you're upset, are you, Light Yagami? Will you tell her who I am I wonder?' Ryuga thought as he glanced at the girl besides him before nibbling on the tip of his thumb.

* * *

When Light returned home, he slammed his door shut before slamming his cell phone down on his desk and collapsing into his chair while clutching at his hair.

"He humiliated me today! Now he's with my fiance, he's trying to get close to her so he can use her for information," Light spat. "He's trying to befriend me too. If we're all friends, Noriko would be more likely to let something slip, she doesn't know I'm Kira, but if she said something about the bus jacking or that she saw me with Naomi Misora, I'm done for. I have to play his game though, I just can't lose."

* * *

Noriko shoved her little fight with Light to the back of her mind and tried to enjoy the tea that was sitting untouched before her and the pastry she ordered, that was also untouched.

"Are you going to eat that," Ryuga asked, pointing at the uneaten sweet.

She shook her. "No, go ahead."

"Thank you," he replied, taking the dish between two fingers and sliding it towards himself.

"Do you ever eat anything but sweets," she asked monotonously.

"Rarely," he answered.

"That isn't healthy you know," she said pointedly.

Ryuga shrugged. "Have you been following the Kira case at all?"

"Huh?" Noriko replied, confused by the abrupt change of topic.

"The Kira case. I've heard L has sent fifteen hundred agents into Japan," Ryuga stated, munching on Noriko's pastry.

"Uh, I heard, sort of at least. I haven't paid much attention," she answered truthfully.

Ever since her and Light had gotten engaged she had done as she had promised and tried not to dwell on the Kira case. She knew he was just trying to protect her from the evil in the world, but she couldn't help but wonder if there was something else too.

"So you know it's thought that he's in the Kanto region," Ryuga said.

"I had heard that."

"Did you know he was suspected of being a student as well at one point?"

"I didn't know that. I already said I haven't really followed the case lately," she replied.

"Do you have any thoughts on who Kira might be?"

Noriko was a bit taken back by the very forward and blunt question. "No. Why all the questions on the Kira case," she asked.

"No reason. It's just an interest of mine," Ryuga answered.

"An interest?"

"Yes-"

Noriko's phone began to ring loudly from her purse and she snatched it as quickly as she could, earning a few glares from the other occupants in the quiet tea house. She stood and quickly excused herself.

"Mr. Yagami," she asked curiously, walking outside to talk not disturb anyone.

Noriko listened to her future father in law speak hurriedly, her eyes widening in horror as his words began to sink in. Her face paled and her breathing grew shallow and she tightly clutched the phone in her hand, her knuckles beginning to turn white from the pressure. Her knees began to grow weak and shaky and she had to plop into a chair that was just outside of the little shop or risk falling over.

'This can't be happening,' she thought, her thoughts were slowly and foggy, as if she had just come out of a drug induced sleep. She placed a hand over her face as she continued to listen to the chief of police inform her of the situation and the danger she was in.

* * *

Please review!


	17. Chapter 17 Must Come To

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note, but I do happen to own Noriko and Kiyoshi Mori. Izanami and Katsuo too, but I don't really like them as much. Although neither one will be a problem for much longer...

* * *

**Chapter 17**

**Must Come To...**

"This can't be happening," she uttered quietly. "That's only a few blocks from here."

Watari glanced at Ryuga who was watching Noriko intently while she talked on the phone just outside of the shop.

He frowned when the girl suddenly paled and started to shake so badly she practically fell into the seat by the doorway.

"She doesn't look well," Watari observed, concerned.

Ryuga ignored the older man and continued to watch as Noriko talked on the phone, a quivering hand covering her pale face.

"Should we call Mr Yagami," Watari asked.

"No," Ryuga stated. "He knows I was going to approach his son, but I don't think he'd be happy about me approaching his future daughter in law."

"True, what should we do?"

"Wait, and see what happens."

* * *

"Where are you right now, Noriko," Mr Yagami demanded urgently.

"I'm at a coffee shop downtown with some friends," she answered shakily.

"How far are you from the police headquarters, I can meet you there shortly."

"About three blocks."

"I want you to go there and tell the people at the desk who you are. I'll call now and tell them you're coming. You'll be safe there."

Noriko swallowed, but her throat was still dry. "Alright, I'm on my way."

She snapped her phone shut and stood up quickly, nearly knocking over the small chair she was in. She drew in a breath and made her way back inside the shop. Making her way back to the table she had shared with Watari and Ryuga, she tried to regain her composure.

"Is everything alright, Noriko," Watari asked her, he was clearly concerned, it was evident by the tone of his voice.

"I'm sorry. Something came up and I need to go," she replied, a slight tremble to her voice as she grabbed her bag.

"Do you need a ride," Watari offered.

She forced a smile. "No thank you. I'm sorry." After apologizing, she bolted from the shop.

"She seemed really upset, I hope she'll be alright," Watari worried.

"Yes," Ryuga agreed blandly.

Noriko ran out of the building and nearly collided with another person, she apologized hurriedly and took off again.

"Damn shoes," she muttered. The heels she was wearing were making it difficult to run, kicking them off, she ran down the street bare foot.

Once to the corner of the street, she turned sharply. She was taking the shortest route she could think of to the police headquarters.

'This can't be happening,' she thought in a panic. 'How!? How could Katsuo escape! Damn it, he knows why he was held now, he knows it was technically because of me that he wound up in jail. He won't care about the other charges, he'll come after me.'

Mr Yagami had told her that Katsuo was in the process of being transferred to another jail so that he would be closer to the court his trial was to be held in. Somehow in the process though Katsuo had managed to get his hands on a gun and had shot one of the guards, severely wounding him. He had then taken off running towards the west side of the city, Noriko was coming from south of the building and figured the chances of running across him were slim, especially since she was headed towards the police headquarter and he would be trying to get away from it.

Running as fast as she could, she heaved a sigh when she finally saw the towering building that housed the police force and made a mad dash for the doors. Bursting into the building, her feet slapped against cool tile. Nearly colliding with the reception desk when she skidded to a breathless halt, she managed to tell the two men there who she was between her gasps for air.

She was close to panic and it was obvious in her flushed cheeks and worried eyes. The guards at the desk tried to calm her down, saying that someone was on their way to get her, but she was too flustered to listen. Her breathing was ragged from her sprint and she leaned over to place her hands on her knees.

"Noriko," a voice called.

Noriko snapped her head up to look at a very familiar face. "Takehiko," she forced out continuing to gasp for breath.

"You remember," the handsome young officer replied with a warm smile.

"Yes. I remember," she nodded.

"I'm supposed to look after you, Mr Yagami thought a familiar face might be nice so he asked me to look out for you until he could get here," the man told her.

She nodded numbly, the situation seemed so unreal. Her life was in danger and she knew it though she silently hoped that the man after her would die of a heart attack before he got his hands on her. She may may not agree with Kira's method of justice, but she figured there were exceptions to every rule.

"Thank you," she said breathlessly.

"Not a problem, come on," the handsome officer replied, waving her to walk with him.

Walking beside the officer, Noriko felt a little more at ease. As long as she was here, she knew she was safe. A frown crossed her features when she realized where Katsuo would likely go first and what that meant for her.

Noriko unconsciously rubbed at her right arm. 'I can't go home, ever. If my mother knows I'm the real reason Katsuo was originally put in jail she'll never let me near the house again,' she thought to herself.

"Noriko, are all right," Takehiko asked.

"Hm? Yeah, just a little shocked is all. This changes a lot for me," she replied forlornly.

"Try not to worry too much, I'm sure everything will be fine."

"I hope so," she replied as she followed him into a small room that looked like a break room. There was a couch off to one side and a few tables in the center and a kitchenette across the wall from the couch.

Noriko flopped onto the couch and put her head in her hands.

"I'm only here until one of Chief Yagami's men arrive. Then I believe you're going to be taken to a hotel nearby for the night," Takehiko informed her, he pulled a chair out from one of the tables and sat down.

Noriko nodded, closing her eyes and leaning into the comfort of the couch.

* * *

"Ryuzaki, there's an emergency I need to attend to. I'll be back as soon as possible," Mr Yagami relayed hurriedly as the onyx eyed detective slouched into the room.

"What's the problem," the detective asked. He sat himself in his usual crouch in a chair that was placed before a a laptop.

"There has been a problem at the jail and a dangerous man has gone free. I have reason to believe he will try to go after Noriko, my son's-"

"Fiance. Yes, I know. I've met her," the man he knew as Ryuzaki replied.

"You have," Mr Yagami asked, surprised.

"Yes, we had coffee," he stated simply. "I understand the situation, I will have Watari reserve the girl a room here. We can provide her whatever she needs until the man is captured. She only knows me as her classmate, so please don't mention the investigation, or that I'm here as well."

"Of course. I'll tell her it was arranged by the police department for her protection," Mr Yagami replied.

Ryuzaki leaned forward and pressed a button on the laptop before him.

"Watari."

"Yes, Ryuzaki."

"Did you hear the situation?"

"I did, I will reserve her a room and make sure she will be able to get the clothes and whatever items she may need."

"Thank you, Watari," Ryuzaki replied.

"Thank you, Ryuzaki. I should go and get her now," Mr Yagami said before turning to leave the room.

* * *

"Light, for the hundredth time, I'm fine," Noriko sighed into her phone.

"I'm going to come down there," he replied.

She was lying on her back in the plush king sized bed of the hotel room she had been given to stay in, rubbing at her tired eyes.

"No, your dad already told you not to come here in case Katsuo saw you or he has someone follow you," she repeated for at least the tenth time. "He knows a lot of people Light, and they have no problem helping him."

"I don't care, you're my-"

"I'm aware!" she snapped. " However I am capable of taking care of myself. I'm not completely helpless. On top of that I'm still rather pissed off at the moment and I'd rather be left alone."

"Nori," Light sighed.

"Light, I don't want to hear it. If you weren't feeling well or something fine, but that doesn't give you the right to talk to me the way you did. Not only that, I think you and Ryuga are hiding something from me and I'd really like to know what."

"What do you mean," Light asked.

"I've known you a long time, Light. You were upset while talking to Ryuga at the ceremony, and then you disappear and leave me there. When I called you to see where you were, you didn't want me anywhere near Ryuga. Why?"

"I'm sorry, Noriko. I guess I was just jealous."

Noriko didn't believe him, she knew he was lying and he had avoided answering the question about Ryuga. "I'm tired and I still need to go and get some clothes from the shops downstairs before they close, can I call you back later," she asked.

When she was finally able to hang up her phone, she sighed and went into the bathroom to wash her face and clean off the dirt from her feet. Once that was done she slipped her heels back on since she didn't have any other shoes and made her way to the door of the luxurious room.

Swinging the door open, she nearly screamed when she came face to face with a man with dark hair.

"Oh, sorry about that," the man said, chuckling nervously and scratching at his head.

"Matsuda," she asked uncertainly.

"Yeah. The chief wanted me to check on you and escort you down to the shops."

"Oh, I think I'll manage on my own."

"Well he's pretty worried about you so..."

Noriko sighed and nodded. "Let's go," she muttered, shutting the door to her room.

She and Matsuda took the elevator down to the ground floor and then turned towards all the shops to the left of the lobby. The shops were a bit more upscale than Noriko was used to and she was a little hesitant about doing any shopping in any of them. She had been told to charge any of her purchases to the room and that they would be taken care of for her. To her it seemed like the police were going a bit far for her, but she figured Mr Yagami had something to do with that.

Wandering around with Matsuda trailing along with her, Noriko explored a few of the shops. Most of the shops didn't have anything that suited her tastes and she left with out buying anything. Finally she found a few stores grouped together that looked like they were aimed at people in her age group, so she meandered through them, finding a few things in each that she would wear. Luckily, one of the shops also sold shoes and she was able to get a pair of shoes as well.

As they made their way back to the lobby, Noriko saw a little gift shop and stopped inside to buy a toothbrush, tooth paste, shampoo and conditioner and a brush.

"I think I've got everything I'll need for a few days," she said as she glanced back at Matsuda who was carrying her bags for her.

They took the items up to her room and Noriko walked into the bedroom that was beyond the rather large living room. She put the bags of clothes into the closet to put away later.

"So," Noriko drawled, walking back into the living room to see Matsuda sitting on the plush red and cream striped couch.

Matsuda chuckled uncomfortably, and Noriko tweaked a brow at him. "You were sent here to watch me, weren't you?"

"Uh, well..."

"Don't worry about it, Matsuda. Mr Yagami is just worried and Light probably isn't making it easy on him either," Noriko replied, plopping onto the couch besides the nervous detective.

"Yeah," Matsuda replied, sheepishly rubbing at his head.

"I'm starving," she said suddenly as she stood quickly from the couch.

Noriko walked towards the door and slipped her heels back on, she figured if she was eating in the rather fancy hotel she might as well look like she belonged there. She walked towards the door , stopping to glance back at Matsuda expectantly.

"Oh, right" he exclaimed. He jumped up from the couch and began to blush at himself.

Noriko shook her head at the man and left the room. Once back downstairs, she walked over to the nearest restaurant and looked over the menu that was posted in a glass case just outside of the entrance. Matsuda stood behind, her looking around distractedly and nervously.

"Maybe we should have stayed in the room," Matsuda suggested.

"Oh please, I think the hotel lobby is safe," Noriko retorted.

"But-"

"Matsuda, I'd really rather not think about the fact that someone is most likely trying to find and kill me," Noriko cut in rather cheerily.

"Ok," Matsuda gave in reluctantly.

"Come on," Noriko chirped, she turned towards the restaurant, but she hadn't noticed that there was some water or something slippery spilled on the floor and slipped, falling backwards.

She let out a small shout and braced for impact...That never came. Confused, she realized that there was a hand on her shoulder and another at her waist.

"I really need some lessons in grace," she mumbled to herself. After righting herself, she turned to thank Matsuda, only to stop and turn red when she noticed that it wasn't Matsuda who had helped her.

"Are you alright," her savior asked.

He had to be one of the most handsome men she had ever seen. He had long dark hair, slightly tanned skinned and dark almond eyes. He wore a very expensive business suit and was now regarding her curiously, one brow quirked up in what could have been amusement or annoyance, Noriko wasn't really sure.

"Oh," Noriko said when she snapped back to reality. "Yes, I'm fine thank you. I'm so sorry."

"Noriko, are you alright," Matsuda asked suddenly popping up from nowhere.

"I'm fine. I just slipped," she assured him embarrassedly. "Really nothing new for me," she mumbled as an after thought.

The man who had caught her laughed lightly and she looked up at him curiously. "What," she asked a little offended.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you, Ms..."

"Noriko."

When the man gave her a strange look, she sighed. "My name is Noriko Mori, I prefer to be called Noriko."

"Noriko, I'm Reiji Namikawa," the man introduced himself with a polite bow.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Namikawa. Oh and that's Matsuda, the temporary bodyguard," Noriko said, jerking her thumb at Matsuda who was watching the two talk and fidgeting uncomfortably.

"Bodyguard," Reiji asked.

"Yep, someone's trying to kill me," Noriko replied with a shrug.

The handsome man stared at her for a moment trying to determine if she was being serious, but seeing that she didn't seem to be displaying much emotion he wasn't sure what to make of the situation. He noticed that Matsuda seemed uncomfortable with her having given her name and telling him she was in danger.

"Ok, so that was awkward," Noriko finally spoke up with a small chuckle. "I'm sorry for having delayed you, Mr Namikawa, but I think I should eat and get back to my room so that Matsuda doesn't freak out."

"I was just about to go and eat myself, would you like to join me?"

Noriko was a little surprised by the offer, but didn't want to turn him down and seem rude. "I'd love to," she replied with a smile.

"Mr Yagami's gonna kill me," Matsuda whined as he followed after Noriko and Namikawa.

"Matsuda try not to worry so much," Noriko replied, casting a quick glance over her shoulder to grin at the man.

The next three hours were spent in pleasant conversation while she and Namikawa, as she had taken to calling him, ate their food and then sipped at tea.

"You're engaged I see," Namikawa observed.

"I am," Noriko replied.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks," Noriko tried to reply happily, but she instead sounded dejected and sad.

"You don't seem pleased."

"I am. It's just that lately I think he's hiding something from me," she answered as she played with the tea cup before her.

"I'm sorry," Namikawa said to her.

She forced a smile. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking about my problems, they are mine alone after all."

"Noriko," Matsuda asked hesitantly.

"What is it, Matsuda," she asked as she looked over at him.

"I think we should get-" He was cut off by his phone ringing. Digging the object out of a coat pocket, he opened it and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

Noriko saw him cringe and pull the phone away from his ear after giving a negative reply to a question she couldn't hear.

"It's for you," Matsuda said, he shoved the phone in her direction with an apologetic smile.

Taking the phone hesitantly, Noriko asked, "Um, hello?"

"Noriko, what are you doing?!" a voice snapped at her.

"Ah! Mr Yagami, I was just finishing dinner," she explained hurriedly.

"You should be in your room, you should stay out of sight," Mr Yagami chided her.

"Won't that be a problem in two days, when I have classes?" she asked.

"We'll talk about that tomorrow, just please return to your room."

"Yes sir," she sighed.

After another brief scolding, she handed the phone back to Matsuda who reluctantly put the phone back to his ear.

"Please forgive the interruption, but it seems I need to return to my room," Noriko informed Namikawa.

"It was a pleasure dining with you," Namikawa replied. He stood when she did and walked with her out of the restaurant.

"Thank you for the company, it was refreshing after the day I had," she said.

"Thank you, I'll be here tomorrow night as well, if you should happen to be hungry again," Namikawa replied, hinting that he would like to see her again.

Noriko blushed lightly and bowed. "I just might be," she said as she walked with Matsuda towards the elevator.

"You're blushing," Matsuda pointed out.

"Shut up," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Are you going to meet him for dinner again tomorrow," he asked curiously.

"Maybe," she replied with a shrug.

"Wouldn't Light be upset?"

"He doesn't own me," Noriko answered haughtily.

"Right," Matsuda swallowed as he backed up slightly.

The next morning Noriko woke up and looked around the room, confused. It took a moment for her to remember where she was and why she was there.

"Not a dream, too bad," she mumbled. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she stretched her arms over her head and yawned widely..

Not bothering to change, she stayed in the black tank top and black shorts she had purchased to sleep in the night before. Walking to the door that led to the living room and she opened it and peeked through the opening. There was someone on the couch, but it definitely wasn't Matsuda.

"Who the hell are you," she demanded. Opening the door fully, she walked into the living room.

"Oh, you're awake," the person replied, turning towards her.

"Takehiko," Noriko asked, blinking at the police officer who was dressed plainly in gray slacks and a red button up over a black shirt. "Where's Matsuda?"

"He had to go and do something for Mr Yagami, they asked if I could watch after you for the day," he answered.

Noriko shrugged. "Ok."

She walked back into the bedroom and picked up her phone, she had turned it off the previous night after returning to the hotel room from dinner. Staring at it for a minute, she tossed it back onto the dresser and decided to leave it off.

Gathering a few items, Noriko made her way to the bathroom and took a hot shower. She took her time in getting ready and walked out of the bathroom nearly an hour later, dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a long white tank top that was covered in black lace, giving it a slightly Gothic feel. Going back to the bedroom, she pulled a cropped black cardigan out of the closet and put it on over the tank top. Taking a quick look in the mirror she was glad to find that the outfit fit quite nicely and was nice while still being a little plain.

"So what's the plan for today," she inquired.

"I was told not to let you out my sight," Takehiko replied as he glanced up at her from the newspaper in his hands.

"Ok, so I can go downstairs as long as you come along right?"

"Actually, Mr Yagami doesn't want you leaving the room," Takehiko replied apologetically.

"Really," Noriko asked sourly, plunking herself down on one of the two cushiony chairs in the living room.

"Sorry."

"No problem. So are you going to be here all day?"

"Yeah, until Matsuda finishes up whatever he was doing, it sounds like it might even be tomorrow."

Noriko frowned, she knew she could get Matsuda to let her out of the room. She wasn't so sure about Takehiko though. He didn't seem like the type to disobey orders, and on top of that he seemed to have more backbone than Matsuda had shown so far.

"What about class tomorrow," Noriko asked him.

"Chief Yagami said he would be stopping in later to discuss that with you," Takehiko answered.

"I see," Noriko replied with a frown.

The day crawled by slowly for Noriko who was bored silly. She watched television, read the newspaper and when she was no longer entertained, she decided to try and get Takehiko to let her go wander around downstairs.

"I can't leave, right?"

"Right," he replied cautiously, sensing she was up to something.

"What if I did leave," she asked.

"I wouldn't let you," Takehiko warned. Taking his attention from the news to shift it Noriko, he eyed the girl suspiciously.

"So you'd stop me?"

"Yes."

"Would you use force?"

Takehiko seemed to sense she was planning on getting out, but trying to figure out how far he would go to stop her. "Possibly," he replied seriously.

"I see," she muttered thoughtfully, tilting her head back to look up at the ceiling.

There was a sudden knock at the door which caused Noriko jump and look at the door worriedly.

"And you want to leave the room," Takehiko teased, laughing at her paranoia.

"Hey," Noriko whined at him, pouting as the door was opened and Mr Yagami walked in.

"Chief," Takehiko greeted respectfully, taking a step out of the man's way.

"I trust Noriko has behaved," Mr Yagami questioned pointedly as he looked at Noriko.

She chuckled and shrugged at him.

"Mostly," Takehiko replied.

"Hey I didn't-"

"Noriko," Mr Yagami cut in. "I wanted to talk to you about you attending your classes."

"Ok. So how are we going to do this, is someone going to follow me around or what?"

Mr Yagami sighed. "It would be preferred that you don't attend, I can arrange to have-"

"Are you serious," she blurted out, sitting up from her slouch to stare disbelievingly at her future father in law. "I'm supposed to start college tomorrow and you don't want me to go? No way, not happening. I'm going even if I have to sneak out of here."

"I figured as much, which is why I have arranged to have a few officers to be at the school to watch for Katsuo. There will also be an officer in plain clothes assigned to be near you at all times," Mr Yagami informed the angry girl.

"Oh, well that's better," Noriko replied, calming down and leaning back into the chair.

"I also wanted to warn you to be wary of your mother. She hasn't been seen since last night. Officers went to the house and she was already gone and hasn't returned," Mr Yagami told her.

"I figured as much. Katsuo and her are probably hiding out somewhere," Noriko replied.

"You're going to need to stay here as long as he's on the loose. I can arrange to have an officer go to your house and bring you some more of your belongings if you'd like," Mr Yagami offered.

"That would be nice," she replied. "As it is I don't have any school supplies."

"I'll see if I can't have some of your stuff here by morning then. I need to be going though," he said as he stood and headed for the door.

"Thank you," Noriko called after him.

"I'd prefer that you stayed in the room for the night, Noriko," Mr Yagami said to her as he exited and gave her a stern look that meant business.

She just smiled and nodded, not at all planning on staying in the room.

"You're not planning on trying to leave still, are you," Takehiko asked as he sat back down on the couch after Mr Yagami had left.

"Of course not," she replied as she stood and made her way to the bathroom. It was a little after five pm, and she knew that Namikawa had said he would be at the restaurant at the same time he had been the day before, which if she remembered correctly was around six pm.

She brushed out her hair and pulled it into a high ponytail, leaving some of her bangs free to frame her face. When she walked out of the bathroom, she decided to go to the bedroom for a little while, telling Takehiko that she was kind of tired.

'How am I going to do this,' she thought as she stared at the door. 'Takehiko isn't going to let me out of this hotel room willingly.'

Plopping onto the fluffy bed, she tried to think of a plan to get downstairs. It was nearing six and she wanted to leave. She didn't really want to be holed up in the room any longer. At this point, she didn't care if she had dinner with Namikawa, as long as she wasn't in the room.

She lifted her head off the pillow when she heard the bathroom door shut down the hall. Tip toeing to the door, she opened it quietly and noticed that Takehiko wasn't in the living room. Grabbing her phone just to be safe, she slipped on the black ballet slipper like shoes she had purchased the day before and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her quietly. She walked to the door on the opposite side of the living room and quietly opened it, stopping when it squeaked and waiting for a moment before slipping out and running to the elevator.

She giggled as she walked out of the elevator and towards the shops and restaurants to the left. Sighing, she turned on her phone, glad that she had no messages and turned the ringer to vibrate before slipping it into her pocket. She hadn't brought a purse, she had only grabbed her phone and the key to the room in case she had to charge something.

Her feet made little noise in the slip on shoes as she walked around the tiled paths between the shops, she stopped at a window and stared at a black hand bag that had caught her eye.

"No bodyguard today," a voice spoke up from behind her.

She jumped at the sudden voice and spun around to see that the voice belonged to Namikawa. Chuckling embarrassedly, she answered his question with a small forced chuckle. "Well.. I kind of ditched him."

"Do you think that was a good idea?"

Noriko shrugged. "I understand I'm in danger, but I don't really like being a prisoner. I'd rather enjoy myself and not be reminded constantly that I'm in danger."

"Understandable," he replied. "How about dinner then?"

Noriko smiled and nodded and took the arm that was being offered to her.

An hour into dinner, she felt the phone in her pocket begin to vibrate, she pulled out the phone to glance at the caller ID, she furrowed a brow at the number that she didn't recognize and ignored it, putting the phone back into her pocket.

The two talked amicably about many different subjects including her attending college. She knew he was avoiding subjects that would draw her mind back to her predicament, and silently thanked him. He was apparently a very high ranking employee at the Yotsuba corporation, which Noriko knew was a very prestigious, world wide company. There was an age difference between the two of about twelve years they discovered, but it didn't seem to make their conversations any less intellectual. The two were rather enjoying themselves, each thankful for a break from their daily lives, or in Noriko's case, her new daily life.

"Oh, no," Noriko groaned when she saw Takehiko stalk into the restaurant.

"Noriko, what the hell were you thinking," he scolded, stalking up to their table.

"And you are," Namikawa asked.

"Takehiko, who are you," he asked rudely.

"Reiji Namikawa."

"And just what are you-"

"Takehiko," Noriko interrupted, a little perturbed by how rude he was being.

"Let's go," he ordered.

Noriko opened her mouth to refuse when Namikawa spoke.

"I think the gentleman may be right Noriko, you should probably return to your room before you get yourself into more trouble."

"Of course, I do have class tomorrow anyways," she replied trying not to sound to disappointed. It was nice to have someone to talk to. Light had been so busy recently that she had been spending much of her time alone. She stood up from the table and smiled at Namikawa and Takehiko who were pointedly avoiding each others gaze.

"Thank you for the company yet again," Noriko said.

"No, thank you," Namikawa replied as he stood up to walk her out.

"I had a great time, we should do this again sometime. Preferably when I can leave without having to worry about someone following me," Noriko said as she turned to glare at Takehiko, who snorted and looked away.

"That would be nice," he agreed.

"She's engaged you know," Takehiko mumbled quietly.

"I'm aware of that."

Noriko felt her phone go off in her pocket and without thinking, she took it out of her pocket and answered it.

The two men who had accompanied her out of the restaurant where involved in a conversation of sorts while Noriko listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. Takehiko stopped talking when he heard Noriko gasp and utter something quietly. Both men looked over at her to see that she had paled considerably and was looking ahead of her blankly.

"Noriko are you alright," Takehiko asked.

"I-I-" she stuttered before dropping the phone, it fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Noriko," Takehiko asked again more urgently.

She flinched at the sound of his voice, but didn't respond.

"Noriko is something the matter," Namikawa questioned calmly, stepping closer to her.

She turned to him slowly. "It was my mother," she said quietly.

"What, where-"

Namikawa silenced Takehiko by holding up his hand, it was obvious to him that Noriko was distressed and that he wasn't helping by pressuring her.

"She said that she knew what I had done and that I'm no longer her daughter. Nothing particularly new, but then Katsuo took the phone from her and told me that he would make sure I regretted everything..." She trailed off unsure what else to say, her life had just been threatened and she now realized just how real the situation she was in was. She knew she was in danger to begin with, but she had never really thought that any harm would come to her, now though she wasn't so sure, and it scared her.

Looking down at the ground, Noriko leaned down to pick up the phone she had dropped, but her knees gave out and she began to fall. Takehiko, who was standing besides her, caught her before she could fall down completely and lifted her into his arms.

Namikawa reached down to pick up the phone and handed it to Noriko who took it grudgingly.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Of course, until we meet again," he said to her with a small bow as Takehiko glared at him and then walked away.

After getting up to the room, Takehiko laid Noriko down on her bed and left to get her a glass of water. She was pale and her eyes were glazed over as she stared blankly at nothing.

"Take these," Takehiko said as he handed Noriko a glass of water of water and two pills, that she thought looked like night time pain relievers.

Noriko sat up slightly and took the cup with shaking hands before also grabbing the pills and tossing them into her mouth and swallowing them with some water.

"Are you alright," he asked her after she had taken a few sips of the water.

She nodded slowly.

"Good. You scared me, I was trying to see if you were going to want to eat, but when I knocked on your door and got no response I opened it. When I noticed you weren't there I almost panicked."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make trouble for you," Noriko said quietly.

"I guess you see now that this is very real, and you are in danger," Takehiko said to her.

"Yes," she replied.

"Just don't go wandering off without someone like that again alright?"

Noriko nodded.

"Get some rest, you have class in the morning after all," Takehiko said to her trying to sound cheery and happy.

"Thank you," she said to him as he left the room.

He smiled back at her and shut the door behind himself.

* * *

Please review!


	18. Chapter 18 An End

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note, k?

* * *

**Chapter 18 **

**An End**

Noriko wandered around the college campus, classes weren't set to start for another fifteen minutes and she wanted to get used to the unfamiliar lay out. Takehiko had been assigned to follow her around her for the day, so he was tagging along beside her in plain jeans and a nice baby blue polo shirt.

"Noriko!"

She looked around to see that Light was walking towards her, sighing she waited for him.

"Are you alright? You should really have stayed-"

"Light, I don't want to hear it," Noriko cut in tiredly.

"Who's this," he asked nodding at Takehiko.

"Takehiko," she stated. "He's here to look after me today."

"Oh, good," Light replied before turning to Takehiko to introduce himself since Noriko didn't seem at inclined to do so. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Light, Noriko's fiance."

"Yeah, I need to get to class," she murmured, turning away from him.

"Nori," Light said as he grabbed her hand. "You're still angry at me, aren't you?"

"No, I'm just tired, Light. I hardly slept, and I'm a little distracted right now. I'm sorry," she answered.

"Alright," he answered, stepping forward to give her a hug. He felt her stiffen and frowned.

"I'll talk to you later," she said as she turned to walk to her class.

Light watched her go with a frown on his face and his jaw set angrily. 'I'll take care of this later,' he thought bitterly. 'I will protect her. I should have written Katsuo's name sooner, but it would have been possible to link me to his death since I'm engaged to his step daughter that he liked to beat whenever he felt like it.'

The day came and went and Noriko was only barely aware of her surroundings. She left her last class and met Takehiko outside. They slowly began to walk away from the school.

"Nori," she heard Light call.

Glancing over in the direction his voice came from, she noticed he was walking with Ryuga. She stopped and waited for the two men.

"Do you want to get some coffee with us," Light asked.

Noriko tweaked a brow at him and glanced to Takehiko, who shook his head. He was under pretty strict orders and was only to take to school and then return her to the hotel, there were to be no unnecessary stops.

"Sorry, but I can't," she answered.

"I understand," Light replied.

"Hey, Ryuga," Noriko greeted the disheveled boy beside Light.

"Hello," he responded lamely as he stared off into the distance.

"I have to go," she said apologetically when she saw that Takehiko was glancing around impatiently.

"So it's safe to assume that you'll be taking care of Katsuo," Ryuga asked Light once Noriko and Takehiko were out of sight.

"I'm not Kira." Light cast an annoyed and bitter glare at the detective that was slouched beside him and tried to remain patient.

"It's strange that the man hasn't been killed yet, don't you think," Ryuga mused, a curious look on his face as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned back on heels for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he fits the description of the type of person that Kira would kill, so why is he still alive? He has abused an innocent girl, is accused of murder, escaped from jail, shot a police officer and now is threatening to kill someone."

"I don't know, it is strange though," Light agreed while trying to keep the edge out of his voice

Noriko held one of her text books to her chest and stared at the ground she was walking on. 'Something is up. It was relatively obvious that Light didn't like Ryuga, so why on earth are they buddy buddy now?' Noriko wondered.

When Takehiko raised his arm before her, Noriko jolted to a stop, her eyes widening in response to the surprise. Confused, she looked up at the blue eyed man and noticed that he was tense and staring straight ahead with narrowed eyes. Swallowing, Noriko followed his gaze and wasn't surprised to see that standing before them was Katsuo, grinning maniacally. They were on a deserted walkway that was shielded from view of the campus by the tall dense trees that lined the path. Not the best place to be alone with a person who wanted to kill you.

"Noriko, I want you to run," Takehiko ordered her seriously, keeping his eyes glued on the man standing a few feet away.

"But-"

"Just do it, use your phone to call chief Yagami and have him inform the other officers of where we are," Takehiko cut in, his tone firm, but demanding.

When she made no move to go, he stepped in front of her and pushed her behind his slender frame.

"I need to talk to my precious little step daughter," Katsuo leered at them.

"Go, find Light. Just get out of here," Takehiko hissed at her, pushing her slightly to get her to snap out of her frozen state.

Hesitating since she didn't want to leave Takehiko alone, but knowing that he could very well handle himself since he was a police officer, she nodded and turned around, breaking into run.

"I don't know who you are, boy, but you should move," Katsuo barked roughly.

"I'm Officer Yamanaka," Takehiko answered as he drew the gun that was hidden under the jacket that he was wearing.

Katsuo grinned and pulled out the gun he had tucked into his pants.

Noriko hadn't gotten far when the sound of two gunshots echoed through the quiet school. She stopped and looked back, but the trees and bushes blocked her view. She grabbed her phone and quickly called Mr Yagami, when he answered his phone Noriko told him what was going on and began to panic.

"Just get somewhere safe, the officers in the area will be there shortly," he assured her, he sounded tired and stressed.

"Ok," she said as she began running towards the school buildings.

"Well, well, look what I found."

Noriko froze and turned towards the voice that was to her right. Sitting on a bench, smiling at her, was her mother.

"What do you want," Noriko hissed.

"Now that's no way to talk to your mother," Izanami replied. The thin woman stood up and walked towards Noriko, a vicious smile on her lips.

Taking a step back as the woman approached her, Noriko recognized the dark glint in her eyes and knew she needed to get away. Turning, she tried to sprint away, but yelled in pain as her arm was caught and wrenched backwards. Her bag and book fell from her arms when a fist collided harshly with the side of her face.

Grunting, Noriko stumbled back a few steps. She stepped aside as the woman stepped forward to try and hit her again at which point she swung her own fist at the woman. She heard a satisfying pain filled grunt when her fist connected with her mother's side. Silently, she thanked the few self defense classes she had taken over the years.

Izanami doubled over in surprise and pain, taking this opportunity to get away, Noriko turned and began to run again. Shouts could be heard somewhere behind her, but she didn't want to turn back to see what the commotion was, thinking that it would be best to isolate herself somewhere and wait for everything to be over instead of running towards trouble.

There was another series of gunshots and Noriko paused to look back, her eyes wide and her chest rising and falling rapidly. She could see police officers pouring into the school into the distance and watched as they seemed to swarm towards the area she had left Takehiko in.

She was currently standing before one of the universities many buildings. In front of her was a path that lead towards the dorms and to her right was a path that lead to some of the other buildings. There was also a path to her left as well, it was the path that she had followed to get to where she was.

Her breath caught in her throat when she heard a small click behind her.

Swallowing, she turned slowly and saw that Katsuo was standing there pointing a gun at her chest, his left shoulder was bleeding and the blood was staining the shirt he wore a dark crimson color. She took a step backwards and towards the path that lead to the dorms. It was a curvy path lined with many trees and bushes that would help provide cover if she darted into the shrubbery.

"Uh, uh. I wouldn't do that if I were you," Katsuo taunted her.

Stopping, she stared at the man who was pointing a gun at her. "What do you want, Katsuo," she tried to growl, but her fear was too much and she didn't sound as threatening as she had hoped.

The man barked a harsh laugh that reminded her of sandpaper being used on metal. "You owe me."

"I don't owe you anything," she spat.

The man took a quick step forward, Noriko tried to back away, but wasn't quick enough. The hand holding the gun was rammed into her stomach and she stumbled back, falling on to her knees, gasping and coughing.

Screaming when a booted foot connected with her ribs, she leaned over to cough up a small amount of bright red liquid. The liquid filling her mouth and trickling down her mouth was bitter and metallic, blood.

"Not so tough now, are you," Katsuo sneered as he stared down at her.

"Bastard," she choked out defiantly. She had to bite back the shrill cry that threatened to escape her lips as a large rough hand slapped her right cheek. Once her vision cleared from the impact, she struggled to stand up, her ribs were sore and made it difficult, but she managed to do it.

She stared at Katsuo daringly.

"Noriko!" she heard someone shout.

"Run," she heard her father's voice say beside her. With one last glance at Katsuo, who was distracted by the shouts, she turned and ran down the path. She was having trouble breathing, every breath she took it felt as if she was inhaling fire.

The sound of a gun being fired echoed throughout the school, but she paid it no heed and kept running.

"Noriko," she heard someone shout not far to her right.

Turning, she noticed that Takehiko wasn't far away and Light was with him. They were running towards her.

Altering her path, she ran towards the two men. She heard the gun shot that was fired seconds later and saw Light and Takehiko's eyes widen before they both shouted her name. Light picked up his pace, but Takehiko stopped, drawing his gun and taking aim at something behind her. Light's shouts and the gunfire around her never reached her ears, all her senses had suddenly vanished as she felt a strange burning sensation in her abdomen. Her vision wavered and her muscles were useless as she fell to the ground, crimson blood pouring from her torso.

Dazed and confused, she didn't know what had happened, she just felt extremely tired and drained as if her very life was being sucked away from her.

"Noriko," she heard someone shout.

The shout jolted her back to reality and her senses swarmed back to her in a nauseating rush. She pushed herself on to her side, only to let out a howl at the pain it caused. She fell onto her back, her eyes closed and her hand going to her side. When she felt the wet, stickiness of there, she raised her hand and saw that it was covered in bright red blood.

Her eyes widened and she was overcome by a wave of dizziness.

A pale hand grabbed her wrist and lowered it down to her side.

"Noriko, can you hear me," a voice asked.

She blinked and turned her head slightly to see Ryuga looking down at her. He looked bored as usual, but she thought that there was a tint of worry in his voice and in his dark eyes.

Opening her mouth to talk, Noriko found she had no voice and instead had to turn away to cough up a stream of red.

"Nori," Light called worriedly as his face came into view above her.

She felt him grab her hand and squeeze it, she tried to squeeze back, but only managed to weakly move her fingers. Her eyelids were growing heavy and every sound seemed to slow and become tinny.

"Noriko, you need to stay awake," Light said urgently.

Her eyes fluttered open again briefly before they drifted shut and she fell into a dark oblivion.

* * *

It was always the same. The same cramped, musty warehouse full of boxes and no way out. On top of that, anyone she saw was usually covered in shadow so she couldn't make them out. The only ones that she could ever really see were Light and the weird shinigami thing. Everyone else she encountered was draped in shadows.

The dream itself hadn't changed much. She'd wake up in a little cubby of boxes and then start wandering around. Sooner or later she would be surrounded by shadowy people telling her to make a choice. There was also the occasional gunshot which normally preceded the shadow figures.

What choice was she supposed to make?

She had no clue. None.

Usually that's when Light would pop up, saying everyone else was the enemy, and then the shadowy dark haired man would say something about it being Noriko's choice. That's usually when Noriko freaked out and her dad would wake her up.

This time was different though. She had been wandering around for a awhile now and hadn't encountered anyone. That's when the silence of the warehouse was suddenly shattered by the ring of gunshots.

Noriko turned down another walkway between the familiar musty smelling boxes. Hands clasped over her ears to block out the silence that was almost deafening after the loud crashes of gunfire that had echoed through the warehouse.

She had been having this dream often, almost daily in the past few weeks since graduation. The details of the dream always eluded her upon waking up no matter how hard she struggled to remember, but every time the dream came back she would remember everything. Then she would wake up and be frustrated that she had forgotten, but not knowing what she had actually forgotten, it was a vicious cycle, and it was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"Noriko," a soft, quiet voice called to her in the grim darkness of the warehouse.

"What do you want this time," she grunted grumpily.

"You have to choose," the voice said.

"Yeah and you say that every time, but if I don't know what I'm choosing from or why then I can't choose now can I," she replied heatedly.

"No need to get so angry," another voice said, this one was mocking.

"Ryuk, that was your name right," she asked as she turned to face the strange creature that called itself a shinigami.

"Yep," Ryuk replied.

"And before you ask, no I don't have any apples."

"Too bad," Ryuk sighed, his face drooping sadly.

"Do all shinigami like apples as much as you do?"

"No, but the ones in the human world are just so juicy."

Noriko eyed the creature warily.

"This is different then the last hundred times I had the dream," she mumbled to herself as she looked around expecting to see the same shadowed faces that always showed up right after the gun shots were fired.

"Well, I guess I just have to find them this time," she said, beginning to explore the many pathways around her.

She wandered around for what seemed like hours, but never found anyone or anyway out of the maze of boxes.

"This is really a pain," she said as she slammed her fist against a box to her right. "Ahh!" she shouted when her hand went through the box.

"Gross," she whined. Pulling her out and shook off the pieces of dusty cardboard, she shook it off and looked disgustingly at the offending object.

Something in the box caught her eye and she cautiously reached inside and plucked something out.

Noriko stood staring at the object for a moment in complete confusion.

"A chocolate bar," she said slowly as if saying it aloud would actually make her understand why there was a box of chocolate in the weird warehouse.

Shrugging, she unwrapped the chocolate and took bite.

"Tastes like chocolate," she mused as she took another bite.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" a voice yelled at her.

She jumped and spun around to face a shadowy figure of a boy with long blond hair. His face was hidden in shadow, but she could tell he was angry.

"Eating some chocolate," she replied, waving the bar around in front of him.

The boy clenched his fists before snatching the bar from her and stalking off.

"Hey, stealing is bad!" she yelled at the retreating figure.

"Don't mind him, he gets touchy around chocolate."

"Do all of you people have to freaking pop up outta nowhere," she mumbled as she turned to face her new company.

There was another boy, a bit taller than her leaning against one of the boxes, a cigarette dangling from his mouth as he played with what looked to her like a game boy.

The boy shrugged noncommittally. "Sorry, pretty lady."

"I have a name you know," she retorted.

"I know," the boy replied before shrugging again and walking away.

"Jeez, seriously where did these freaks come from," she questioned in annoyance.

"An orphanage in England," a familiar, soft voice said.

"Ah, you again, the dark haired stranger," she said as a man with dark unruly hair walked into view, his hands were in his pockets and he was hunched over slightly. Noriko had seen him many times know, but could never make out his features, but something about him was very familiar and it bothered her.

"Yes, me again," the man replied, lifting his bare right foot to scratch at his left leg.

"Why do you never have shoes on? The other people always have shoes," Noriko pointed out.

The man shrugged. "I don't like socks."

"Ooook then. If you're gonna ask me if I've decided on whatever it is that I don't know anything at all about, the answer is no."

"I was actually wondering if you wanted to get some tea?" the man asked as he raised a pale arm to scratch his head.

Noriko nearly face planted into the floor.

"Uh, haven't you noticed I'm a little busy dreaming in a warehouse and meeting strange people?" Noriko asked sarcastically, gesturing with her hands at the boxes around her.

"That's not quite true," the man replied thoughtfully.

"Huh?"

"Well you aren't dreaming _in_ the warehouse, you're dreaming about _being_ in the warehouse."

"You're an odd one," Noriko grumbled.

He made a sort of sighing, grunt noise and she saw his shoulders move ever so slightly as if he had shrugged.

"You never answered the question, would you like to join me for tea?"

"Sure," Noriko shrugged. "It's not like I have much else to do."

"Come on."

"Ok," she said and began following after him.

"What the...Whoa..." she said as she nearly collided with the man's back as he turned a corner only to stop suddenly.

Noriko glanced around, a little unsure if she was actually seeing what she was seeing. As soon as they had turned the corner they had walked into a little tea and sweet shop. It was decorated in pale blues and there was a window directly behind her giving her a view not of the warehouse, but a busy street, bustling with people. The musty smell of the warehouse was replaced by a sweet herbal smell, mixed with the sugary smell of fresh cake. Noriko could feel her mouth begin to water as the mixture of scents wafted into her nose. Making their way into the shop they took a seat in the back corner away from the few other occupants.

"Uh, this is awkward," she mumbled, scratching at the back of her head.

"Why?" the man asked her sounding as if he really didn't care at all what her reasons were.

"Well, we just went from a musty warehouse to a tea shop by walking like ten steps and turning a corner," she stated.

"And this makes you uncomfortable," the man asked monotonously.

"Yes, it does. Do you have name?" she asked quickly.

"Ryuga."

She blinked up at him and suddenly realized that was who this man reminded her of. Ryuga.

'But it can't be..can it,' she thought as she stared at the man across from her.

A waitress approached them and Ryuga ordered them tea and cake.

They were quiet as they waited for the tea to arrive. Noriko fiddled nervously with her fingers while Ryuga sat in a strange crouch, his knees pulled up to his chest, with his thumb partially in his mouth.

Noriko just watched his odd behavior in silence and wasn't sure what to make of the fact that everything this man said and did now reminded her distinctly of Ryuga. She was trying to make out his face but couldn't and was beginning to wonder why she hadn't noticed the similarities before.

"Here you go," the waitress said as she placed the tea in front of them and three different kinds of cake down on the table.

Noriko raised her eyebrows as she watched Ryuga begin to drop one sugar cube after another into his tea.

"Do you ever sleep?" Noriko asked.

"No," he stated simply, stirring his tea.

"With that amount of sugar it's no wonder," she replied.

"What do you know about the Kira case?"

"Excuse me," Noriko spluttered and nearly choked on her tea.

"Kira, the mass murderer, what do you know about him?"

"Um, well, straight to the point aren't we. I know that he seems to be able to kill with only a name and a face. Uh... He's somewhat childish in the fact that every time he's challenged he'll kill innocent people so that he can get his way. Those F.B.I agents just the other week, and the Lind L Taylor display are enough to prove that," she answered.

"True. How do you think he kills?"

"Um, why are you asking me this?

"I believe that you may have a connection to Kira," Ryuga said, taking a calm sip of his tea.

Noriko's jaw literally dropped. "What are you talking about?"

"How well do you know Light Yagami?"

"Huh, I've known him my whole life. Why are you changing the subject?"

"I'm not. Just listen," he replied managing to sound irritated and tired while still speaking in a monotone voice.

She huffed in response as she looked up into his dark eyes. "Your eyes," she said quietly. She noticed that while they had been sitting his image was slowly getting clearer. She could actually make out the bags under his dark eyes.

'It is Ryuga,' she thought in surprise.

"Hmm," he hummed in response as he glanced up at her.

"They're like coal," she said quietly reaching her hand towards him.

She had never been able to make out much about the people she had been seeing in the dreams, but this was different she could actually make out almost every feature of his now and it was shocking to realize she knew who it was.

"I couldn't see them before," she said, her hand moving closer to his face.

Her hand was centimeters from his face before it was suddenly and painfully snatched away. She cried out in alarm when a tight grip took hold of her wrist and tugged it away from the face of the strange black haired man. Her eyes closed and she winced in pain.

"Noriko, what were you doing?"

Her eyes flew open and her head turned slightly to see Light staring down at her. He looked angry, jealous even.

"Light," she asked slowly, glancing around her.

The coffee shop had faded, to be replaced with the musty warehouse. All three people now stood between the boxes in a place where the pathway branched off in four different directions.

"Hyuk, hyuk. Seems she isn't interested in you anymore," a voice mocked from behind Light.

She looked past Light to see the shinigami Ryuk behind him laughing.

"Light-kun will release her," Ryuga said, his voice raising slightly.

Light chuckled at the man. "I'll do as I please, Ryuzaki."

"What's gotten into you, Light? And his name isn't Ryuzaki, it's Ryuga-" Noriko began while trying to tug her hand from Light's grasp.

"No, it isn't," Ryuga replied, a thumb resting on his bottom lip boredly, while the other hand was shoved into his pants pocket.

"So it's Ryuzaki then," Noriko asked him, confused.

He just shrugged in reply.

"What the hell," she snapped angrily.

"Don't worry about it, Noriko," Light told her.

He turned his eyes down to hers, and for the first time in her life, Noriko was truly frightened. The day of the bus jacking couldn't hold a candle to the feeling that swept over her now. It was like being in a snow storm in the arctic with only shorts and a tank top, knowing you'd die eventually, just not before suffering horribly. Her whole body felt frozen as she stared in the cold, empty depths of Light's eyes.

"L-Light," she stuttered as she looked up into his eyes.

She felt tears forming in her eyes as she continued to stare into the cold, dark depths of the eyes of the boy she had fallen in love with. There was no emotion in those eyes just a darkness that broke Noriko's heart to see.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice shaking with effort.

He blinked at her a few times, the darkness leaving his eyes as he stared at her.

"I'm sorry Nori, I didn't mean to hurt you," he said as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it softly.

She flinched at the contact, but resisted the urge to pull away from him.

She thought she heard a low growl from Ryuga who was standing on the other side of her so that she stood between the two men.

"What were you doing with him Noriko? I thought I told you he was the enemy," Light asked, his voice ripe with anger.

"I-I was.." her throat was dry and she glanced between the two men.

The tension was so thick in the air you could have cut it with a butter knife.

"It's none of your concern, unless of course you feel like telling her the truth," Ryuga said to Light, he shoved his hands into his pockets,and stared at Light with his dark, inquisitive eyes.

Light's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"The truth," she asked quietly. "About what?"

"He's Kira," the two men stated simultaneously.

Noriko took a few steps away from the two.

"I am L, not Kira. You, Light Yagami, are the one who is Kira," Ryuga said with utmost certainty.

"You can't prove a thing," Light scoffed.

"I can... with her help," he replied as he turned to look at Noriko.

"What the hell is going on," Noriko said in a hushed cry that she had meant to be more of a forceful and demanding yell. "Who the hell are you!? Both of you!"

"It's time to choose Nori," Light said to her. "Him or me."

Noriko shook her head wildly as she continued to back away from the men. "I don't know what you're talking about," she whispered as she turned and began running through the maze of boxes.

"Noriko," a voice called calmly.

Noriko halted and looked to see that her father was standing behind her. They were no longer in the warehouse, but surrounded by an intense darkness. She felt as if she were weightless, and was being held up by invisible threads.

"These dreams you've been having aren't reality, but there is some truth to some of what you have seen. What's true and what isn't is really for you to decide. I will tell you though that the creature you saw is indeed a shinigami and he possess the ability to see a person's name and life span, thus allowing him to kill humans and take their remaining lifespans for himself," her father explained to her.

Noriko stared at him, her eyes wide with incomprehension and disbelief. "Shinigami actually exist?"

"Yes, but there are other beings that exist who are just as powerful. Anyways, don't worry about him. The powers he possess will in no way affect you, if he tries to kill you, it won't work, and you will live. However, I warn you to be careful, since his powers do not affect you, if someone were to be controlled and killed by him you could get hurt if you are close to the incident, which normally wouldn't happen. Normal humans can't be affected by the shinigami's powers unless they are the target of its wrath. Now, you have a choice to make, it will be the first of many. Do you wish to remember these dreams when you wake up, or would you rather that I erased them from your consciousness again," her father asked.

"You were making me forget them," Noriko asked.

"Yes," her father replied.

"Ryuga isn't who he says he is, is he," she inquired.

"That is for you to decide. Like I said, there is truth to some of the things you saw and heard, but you need to figure that out on your own and decide what to do with the information."

The seriousness of the situation she was in was evident by the look on her father's face as well as the tone of his voice. There was no sign of the usual cheery, dramatic man.

"I want to-"

"Noriko!"someone called to her.

* * *

Please review!


	19. Chapter 19 Aftermath

Disclaimer- I do not own Death Note, someone else does. Lucky them...

* * *

**Chapter 19**

**The Aftermath**

Light sat in a chair in the whitewashed hospital room looking at the frail form covered by soft blue blankets. Several tubes and wires were attached to the pale, bruised girl that lay lifelessly in the bed, her hands resting limply by her sides. The tubes and wires connected to many different machines, their different noises filled the room with an eerie humming, as well as a constant rhythmic beeping that signified the girl in the bed had a heart beat.

Noriko's face was bruised and puffy, there where a few cuts that were covered with bandages. What wasn't bruised was unnaturally pale and she looked as if she were dead. The white and blue hospital gown clung loosely to her frame and the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed could barely be noticed.

An oxygen mask was placed securely over her nose and mouth to insure that the girl continued to breath and the oxygen was able to flow into her bloodstream.

The door to the white room opened with a quiet creak. Light looked back to see that Ryuga was shuffling inside. After having shut the door, the black haired man sat in a chair beside Light and drew his legs up to his chest.

"What do you want, Ryuga," Light asked bitterly.

"So she's going to live," Ryuga stated.

"Yes, the doctors were able to stabilize her," Light replied.

"She died on the way here, didn't she," Ryuga asked.

"Yeah," Light sighed as he looked back at the pale form on the bed. "The doctors were able to resuscitate her though. Thankfully."

"Good."

"Ryuga, why are you here," Light asked.

"I'm visiting," the man answered, his tone implying that should have been obvious.

Light sighed in annoyance. "You know what I mean. Why are you trying to involve Noriko in something that doesn't concern her. Your problem is with me, right?"

"I believe you are Kira and I plan on proving it."

Light glared at the man. "By using my fiance? I don't think that's appropriate, and I don't like it."

"She's one of the few good people in the world, she's innocent. Do you really think she would stay with you if she knew you were Kira?"

"I am not Kira, Ryuga," Light snapped.

"Yes well the possibility of you being Kira is only about one percent, but I've never been wrong before," Ryuga replied, nibbling on his thumb and staring at Light.

"Well, you're wrong now," Light said.

"She's been asleep for two days, do you think she'll wake up soon," Ryuga asked as his gaze shifted from the angry brown haired Light to the bruised and pale auburn haired girl that lay unconscious before them.

"The doctors aren't sure how long she'll be asleep. She lost a lot of blood, died, was brought back to life, and is now stable. She was beaten and shot, who knows," Light said, his voice was lined with worry and traces of tiredness.

"Hm, I see."

* * *

"I want to-"

"Noriko," a voice called.

Noriko's eyes shot open and she sucked in a deep breath.

"Remember," she whispered quietly.

"Noriko, are you all right?"

The voice was familiar, caring, and worried. Turning her head slowly, Noriko's bright eyes met Light's brown eyes that were filled with worry and relief now that her eyes had opened.

She blinked up at him, her mind was still foggy and she wasn't sure what was going on. She took in the white hospital room and the many tubes that were attached to her.

It was then that everything came rushing back to her in a disorienting whirlwind. Katsuo's escape, staying at the hotel, meeting Namikawa, going to school and meeting Katsuo and her mother. Gun shots.

'Was I shot,' she thought to herself.

"Noriko, can you hear me," Light asked, a little worried by the lack of response he was getting from her.

She nodded her head once, slowly. It was then she realized that there was another person in the room watching them with big dark eyes, as if studying their interaction.

"Ah!" a soft cry escaped her lips. She clenched her eyes shut and tilted her head back slightly. Her hands balled into fists clutching at the blanket that was draped over her body.

The monitor following her heart beat began to beep erratically as her small body arched up from the pain.

'What is going on,' she thought frantically as visions of a dark, dusty warehouse began to fly through her head.

_'You have to choose...' a voice said._

_'Light Yagami, you are Kira,' another said._

_A vision of her, Light and Ryuga suddenly swam into focus. She was reaching for Ryuga's face but her hand was suddenly yanked aside by Light. _

She cried out not only in her mind, but in the hospital room. The door of the room burst open and a nurse came running in with a doctor just behind her.

Light and Ryuga were shoved out of the room by the nurse who ignored Light's questions and shut the door in their faces.

_'Release her, Light Yagami,' Ryuga ordered._

_'I'll do as I please, Ryuzaki,' Light snapped back._

_'His name isn't Ryuzaki it's Ryuga,' Noriko said to Light who still had a grip on her wrist._

_'No it isn't,' Ryuga said._

_'So it's Ryuzaki then,' Noriko asked, confused._

_The man just shrugged in response._

_Noriko felt anger which was shortly replaced by fear when she looked up into Light's eyes._

She cried out again as the images began to swirl and change again, all the dreams she had been having now rushing back to her, fighting to be seen and remembered.

There was a sudden feeling of calm, like the tide of the ocean that washed over Noriko and she could feel her body grow heavy as her muscles began to relax.

As the drugs that had been given to her began to do their work tears began to slip down her pale face from her closed eyes, and soon all was forgotten again as she drifted back into unconsciousness.

The very last thought that went through her mind was what she was suppose to do with the information she had and the things she knew. After all, it would be odd to just call Ryuga a liar and tell him she knew who he was, and she highly doubted that Light would be pleased with her if she straight out asked him if he really was Kira.

When she finally awoke the next day, there was no one in the small white room with her, and the curtains were drawn over the single window so she had no idea as to what time it was. There were vague outlines of flowers that sat on a table under the window but she couldn't fully see them.

She blinked a few times to clear the sleep from her eyes and to try to emerge from the fog that had settled over her mind.

She remembered everything. All of it. Katsuo's escape, her being shot, and most of all the dreams.

Every single detail was fresh in her mind.

Lying in the bed she let her mind wander over everything that had been revealed to her. 'Ryuga is quite possibly L. He believes that Light is Kira, so why would he be friendly towards me,' she thought. 'Oh, I see... To use me. He thinks that I may have some information he needs to confirm his suspicions against Light.'

The door creaked open and a small shaft of light illuminated the room as a brown haired nurse poked her head inside the door.

"Oh, you're awake," the nurse said quietly.

Noriko nodded in reply.

The nurse walked into the room and approached the bed. She checked over the different monitors and felt Noriko's forehead.

"How are you feeling, are you comfortable," she asked.

Again, Noriko only nodded in response. The nurse frowned slightly at the fact that she wasn't trying to respond verbally.

"I'll be in to check on you again in a few hours. If you need anything just push this button here," the nurse explained while pointing to a red button that was on a remote like object beside the bed, "Until then just rest as much as you can and I'll make sure a doctor comes by and sees you in the morning."

'So it's night,' Noriko thought after the nurse left the room.

"How are you feeling, Noriko," someone asked from the shadows near the window.

She sighed, knowing the voice belonged to her father. Watching him as he stepped out of the shadows to stand beside the bed, she remained blank and distant.

"I understand that everything is probably very overwhelming for you right now, but I am here if you want to talk," her father told her. His eyes were full of love and concern for his only daughter.

Noriko nodded and turned her eyes to the ceiling. She had no desire to talk. She had no idea what to even say if she did.

"Get some more sleep little one," her father whispered quietly.

Noriko sighed, but closed her eyes. She didn't think that sleep would be able to find her, but she thought it was worth a try, after all it wasn't like she could go for a walk.

* * *

"The nurse said she woke up early this morning, right?"

"Yeah, apparently she seemed pretty alert, but she didn't talk at all."

"Light-kun should go see his father now."

"I don't need you telling me what to do, Ryuga."

"Hmm, yes, of course not."

Noriko stirred as the voices broke through her peaceful slumber. Blinking her eyes open and letting them adjust slowly, she saw that Light and Ryuga were sitting in the two chairs to the left of her bed.

"Noriko," Light said upon noticing that her eyes had opened. He stood from his chair and walked over to the bedside.

She cringed involuntarily when he grabbed her hand in his, something that didn't go unnoticed by either one of the people in the room.

"How are you feeling," Light asked her. Brushing some of her hair from her face, he studied her and waited for her to answer.

'Do you really care,' she thought bitterly, staring up at him.

"Nori," Light pleaded quietly.

"Leave," she whispered hoarsely as she turned her head away from him. The thoughts in her head were too much for her. She didn't want to believe that Light was Kira, and it wasn't a sure thing he was, but she just couldn't sort out her thoughts while she was drugged up on pain killers and trying to come to terms with having actually died.

Light was stunned by the single word that she had spoken and it was obvious by the look on his face, even Ryuga seemed a little surprised and tilted his head slightly to study at her.

"Noriko, what's wrong," Light asked her worriedly.

"Leave, both of you," she whispered.

"Noriko-"

"Please, Light, just go," she said quietly.

"Look at me, Noriko," Light ordered her, he was confused and angry by her indifference to him and he wanted to know what had caused it. He had spent so much of the past three days worrying for her and then his father had collapsed the previous day from a heart attack brought on by stress. Not only that but he had to deal with Ryuga trying to get him to reveal himself as Kira. So he wasn't exactly in a good mood, he wanted answers from the girl he had so nearly lost. He loved her and it angered him that she was being so distant. He would do anything for her and he would make sure she stayed with him forever.

When Noriko made no sign of moving her head to look at him, Light sighed and turned to Ryuga, "Would you excuse us please, I'd like to be alone with her."

"Yes, of course," Ryuga agreed as he unfolded himself from the chair and slowly sauntered out of the room.

"Noriko."

The green eyed girl remained silent.

With another sigh, Light reached over and placed a hand under her chin, gently tilting her head so that she was facing him. She wouldn't look at him though her eyes stared up unemotionally at the ceiling.

"Noriko, what's wrong? Why do you want me to leave," Light asked, his voice was concerned but demanding as well.

"You lied to me," she answered quietly.

"What are you talking about," he asked, entirely lost by her response.

"Both of you, you lied to me. I trusted you and you lied. Were you just trying to use me too?"

"Noriko, what the hell are talking about," Light asked urgently.

But she wouldn't answer him, he tried for another few minutes to get her to talk, but she refused. So with a defeated sigh, Light squeezed her hand and leaned over to kiss her softly on her forehead.

"I love you, Noriko," he said to her as he released her hand and left the room.

"Is everything alright," Ryuga asked when Light shut the door to the room and stepped into the brightly lit hall.

"She wouldn't say anything aside from that we had lied to her," Light replied with a sigh.

"We," Ryuga asked, his shoulder slumped forward and one hand stuffed in a pocket while the other scratched at the back of his upturned head.

"Yes, we."

"Hmm, why would she say that," Ryuga mused.

"I don't know, she wouldn't talk anymore after that," Light answered.

"Odd."

"I'm going to visit my father now, are you coming," Light asked.

"Yes," Ryuga sighed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans and slouched alongside Light.

For the next week Noriko was confined to her bed in the hospital. Light visited her daily and Mrs Yagami and Sayu would stop in occasionally as well since Mr Yagami was in the same hospital as her, just in a different wing, recovering from his heart attack. Ryuga would stop in with Light sometimes, but there was never any sign of Watari and Noriko didn't feel like asking about the kind old man because it would require her to speak, something she hadn't done since she had spoken with Light a few days before.

Light was frustrated with her for her silence, but was trying to be patient and wait for her to open up and talk to him, he knew she was probably still dealing with the fact that she had nearly died. On top of that she now had a very uncertain future. Katsuo and her mother had both been killed, Katsuo by the police after he had shot Noriko and her mother had committed suicide the following day. She had no home anymore, she was seventeen which by all means made her an adult, but she had very little money and she wasn't supposed to receive any of the inheritance left by her father until she was eighteen, in two more months.

Mrs Yagami had already told her she was welcome to come and stay with them for the time being, but she had just smiled and shaken her head.

Her bruised and swollen cheek had healed almost completely in the week she had been at the hospital. It was still slightly swollen and tinged a pale yellow, with a hint of purple on her cheekbone. Her ribs felt much better as well, they had been bruised by the harsh blow and kick Katsuo had graced her with. The gunshot wound to her side was healing nicely, it hurt still and she had to move carefully so that it wouldn't reopen. She was still fairly weak from the loss of blood and the damage her body had received as well as the emotional stress of all the events that had occurred.

'In those dreams Ryuga was L and he suspected that Light was Kira. He was trying to use me to get information on Light. But Light can't be Kira, I've been with him when some of those deaths have occurred, so its just not possible,' Noriko thought.

It was mid-morning and she was lying in her bed, her hands resting at her sides as she stared blankly out the window. There really wasn't anything to see except the clouds that floated lazily through the clear blue sky and the occasional bird that would flit passed.

'What's confusing though is that in those dreams Light would tell me that the other people who showed up were our enemies, but I didn't get that feeling from any of them. Then there's that Shinigami thing he was always hanging around too, maybe he's Kira. He does have the power to kill people with just their name and face my dad said. What is his connection to Light though, it seemed that he would either be alone or not show up unless it was around Light...Maybe the shinigami thing is using him somehow and he doesn't know it... Then again the dreams could be absolutely meaningless, dad said some of the things were true which really could mean that Ryuga lied about who he is, I wouldn't be entirely surprised, he has the same name as a pop idol for crying out loud. Maybe he just wants Light's help and doesn't suspect him... I'm over thinking this, I need to calm down and think rationally...'

She heard the sound of the door opening, but didn't bother to turn to acknowledge the person entering her room. It was most likely the doctor or nurse coming to check in on her and she didn't really care.

The sound of someone clearing their throat softly finally got her attention and she looked over to see that the person in her room wasn't a doctor or a nurse, but a familiar long haired man in a business suit.

Noriko blinked at Reiji Namikawa in confusion, not really sure what to do, she hadn't exactly expected to see him again, especially in the hospital to visit her.

"I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of stopping in to see you," he said to her.

Noriko shook her head slowly, she was still a little confused by his visit.

"So what the nurse said was true then? You aren't speaking to anyone?"

Noriko shook her head again and smiled apologetically.

"I see, is that you can't talk," he paused here to allow here a moment to answer, and she did so by shaking her head once again. "So you can talk?"

She nodded.

"Then why do you choose not to, if I might ask?"

Noriko frowned at him.

"You know that really isn't fair," she stated after a few moments of silence. "By asking that question you knew that in order for me to answer I would have to do more than nod or shake my head and since not answering would be rude seeing as how you came to visit me, I have no choice but to say something."

"You didn't answer the question," he pointed out in amusement.

"I chose not to talk because I haven't felt the need to."

"I see."

"So..Not to be rude or anything but...What are you doing here," she inquired with interest.

"I had heard about the shooting at the college and just wanted to see how you were recovering," he answered.

"Oh... Not to be rude again, but why," she asked, she was really curious as to why this man she had only spoken with on two occasions, granted very interesting occasions, would feel the need to see how she was doing.

"To be honest with you, I enjoyed your company. It is rather selfish of me, but I was hoping that once you've recovered you would agree to join me for dinner again."

Ok, so she hadn't expected that. This man, who was obviously wealthy, smart, and could get any woman he wanted with a snap of his fingers, had just told her he had enjoyed her company and wanted to take her out to dinner, again. Did he mean like a date though, because that wouldn't work, she was engaged to Light even if she hadn't spoken to him in a week and was still slightly suspicious of him.

"I know you're engaged, I'm asking as a friend, nothing more," Namikawa said when he say the uncertainty in her eyes.

She smiled and chuckled at his statement. "Well, I'd love to, but..."

"But?"

"I don't know if that would be possible for awhile. Unfortunately, I have no job, which means no money until I receive my inheritance in June and technically no place to live until then. On top of that, I was withdrawn from this semester at To-Oh and now the scholarship I had is no good so I have to figure out how I'm going to pay for school. Not to mention I'm not sure that Light is going to let me out of his sight once I actually get out of this boring hell hole."

Namikawa looked at her for a moment and she blushed when she realized she probably sounded like a lunatic with all the ranting she had just done.

"So you need a job," he asked, apparently unaffected by her raving.

"Yeah," she answered slowly.

"Then you're hired."

"Ehhhh... huh?"

"You do remember me mentioning the Yotsuba corporation, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"I'm the Vice President of Sales."

"Oh," Noriko hummed, realizing just how powerful a man he really was.

"I'm sure I can find you a suitable position within the department, if you're interested of course."

"Yes, very."

Namikawa then reached into a pocket on the interior of his black blazer and handed her a gray business card.

She took the card with a smile, the tubes attached to her wrists clinking softly against the bed post.

"My cell phone number is listed at the bottom. When you have recovered, please call me and we'll discuss you working for me."

"Thank you," Noriko replied, she really was grateful for the kindness he was showing her even if she did find it a little odd.

"My pleasure, I should leave you to rest," he said as he gave her a small bow.

"Of course, thank you again, it was kind of you stop by."

"Like I said it was my pleasure. I hope to hear from you soon."

"Yes, talk to you soon." She stared at the gray business card for a moment before setting it on to the nightstand and returning to gazing out the window.

A few seconds later the door once again creaked open and she again, ignored whoever had entered the room.

"Noriko, who was that man that was just in here?"

'It's Light, how nice,' Noriko thought sarcastically.

She didn't answer or acknowledge him any way.

"Yotsuba Corporation, Vice Preside-"

Light was cut off when the business card he had picked up off her nightstand was quite suddenly ripped from his hands by a rather angry looking Noriko.

"None of your damn business," she snapped.

"Well at least you're finally talking to me," Light replied his voice dripping with sarcasm as he pulled one of the two chairs closer to the bed.

Noriko glared at him for a moment before letting the anger slip away from her with a soft sigh. "I'm sorry Light. I'm just a little stressed out and I'm not handling it very well. I was shot for crying out loud. I have no home, I have nothing, I don't know what to do anymore and I can't think straight."

"It's alright Noriko, but you should have just talked to me. It's been hard for me to have you ignoring me like that, you know," Light said.

"Sorry," she replied with a small sad smile.

"You know you can come and live with my family and I for now, until we can figure something else out."

"I know."

"So who was that man," Light asked.

"A friend. I had dinner with him both nights I was at the hotel. He's very nice, he offered me a job with the company he works for," Noriko answered.

Light raised an eyebrow at her, she could see the suspicion behind his eyes.

Noriko sighed and rolled her eyes. "You don't trust me, do you?"

"Of course I do," Light replied.

"Then stop looking at me as though I did something wrong," Noriko snapped at him.

"Sorry, I guess I get a little possessive sometimes," he answered with a chuckle.

"Sometimes," Noriko teased.

"Well, you are mine," he said with a smile.

"I know."

"I'm glad you're talking to me again," Light said with a content sigh.

'Well, it's pointless to not talk to you. But it's also pointless to ask you straight out if you're Kira. You'll deny it either way, obviously, so there's no way for me to be sure if you are or you aren't. Then there's Ryuga, he wants to use me to get to you, and you know, I think I might just let him. It's the only way I'll get answers, ' she thought as she smiled at him. 'I want to know why he suspects you, especially since I had suspected you at one point too. I know you better than him though, and I really don't think you would kill people like Kira is doing, but still you had been acting strange for a little while. That could have just been the anxiety from the coming exams though, I know I felt it too. If you are Kira though Light, I don't know what I'll do, but I'd rather not think about that. You can't be Kira. For now though I'm just going to sit back and watch and listen, I want to know what's really going on.'

"I like it when you smile, I can't stand to see you sad," Light said to her.

"So where is Ryuga today," she asked casually.

"He wasn't at school so I'm not sure," Light answered.

"Oh, so you two get along now, huh?"

"Well you are friends with him and I thought it would be worth it to get to know him also. He felt the same. We played tennis the other day," Light said.

"Let me guess, you won, right?"

"It was close but I did," Light replied with a chuckle. "Ryuga is quite good. Apparently he was the junior British champ."

"That's rather interesting, he doesn't seem like the athletic type."

"No he doesn't."

"How is your dad by the way," Noriko asked.

"He's doing better. He's resting. The Kira investigation was taking a lot out of him."

"I bet, I haven't been following the news, is there any new information on the case," she asked.

"No, nothing."

"So even the world's best detective can't figure this one out, huh?"

"It would seem that way, but he isn't the world's best detective for nothing," Light answered.

"True."

"So how are you feeling," Light asked.

"Like I've been shot, oddly enough," Noriko replied.

"You look a lot better. You were so pale, I was pretty worried. Especially after they had told us that you had actually died on the way to the hospital. You had lost so much blood," Light said his voice was caring and warm.

"It still hurts like hell, but I don't feel as weak as I did at first. My ribs and face feel a lot better though."

"Good, I'm glad. I'd really like to get you out of here. It's so lonely here," Light said.

"Yeah, and very white," Noriko replied.

* * *

Please review!


	20. Chapter 20 Living Arrangements

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note.

* * *

**Chapter 20**

**Living Arrangements**

Noriko was in her hospital bed watching a news program that was on television with a rather bored look. Light had left the room a little while before and she was left alone with absolutely nothing to do.

The door creaked open and she looked over curiously to see who was coming in. To her surprise it was Watari followed by Ryuga who slouched in after him.

"Hello Noriko," Watari greeted warmly.

"Hi Watari," Noriko answered back with a smile.

Ryuga walked over to one of the chairs and situated himself so that he was sitting with his feet on the chair and his knees near his chin and gazed at her through his dark eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened, I hope you're feeling better," Watari asked.

"Getting there," Noriko replied. "Sorry I had to leave so quickly the other day, but I'm assuming you know the reasons now."

"Yes, don't worry about it dear, I actually came by to see if, well..." the old man trailed off and looked over at Ryuga who glanced at him with a blank face.

Noriko watched the man as he sighed and turned back to her. "Well to be honest Ryuga and I haven't been very truthful with you," he begun.

"Is that so," Noriko asked, raising a thin eyebrow in interest.

"Yes, you see Ryuga isn't a normal student.." Watari seemed to be having a little trouble finding the right words to use.

"If he's not a student then who is he? L?" Noriko asked somewhat sarcastically, all the while wondering how Watari or Ryuga would respond.

"Actually, I am," Ryuga stated.

"Really," Noriko replied.

"You don't seemed surprised," Ryuga observed.

Noriko shrugged. "I think it would take more than that to surprise me right now."

"What if I told you I was investigating Light as possibly being Kira," he asked.

"I would want to know why you suspect him, and what it has to do with me," she answered coolly.

"Would you want to know if Light was Kira," L asked.

"Of course, I'm supposed to be marrying him, if he's lying to me then I would want to know," she replied, somewhat heatedly.

"What would you do if he was," L asked curiously.

Noriko frowned at him. "You sound certain he's Kira, do you have any proof?"

"I'm not here to discuss the case with you, I was here to offer you my help," L said.

"Your help," Noriko asked incredulously. "What would I possibly need your help for, you were trying to use me, correct? So wouldn't you be wanting my help?"

A small smile actually crept onto L's lips as he watched Noriko, it actually unnerved her a little bit and she fidgeted under his gaze.

"What he is trying to say, Noriko, is that in positions like ours it's a good idea to help those who are in need of it and we would like to offer you a place to stay," Watari said.

"In other words," Noriko said looking over to L with angry eyes. "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I may not be your enemy, but you think Light is and this would clearly piss him off, so you're hoping he does something drastic, right?"

"You're pretty perceptive," L said to her as he chewed on his thumb.

Noriko rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, the arrangements have already been made and I don't have much of a choice."

L didn't respond, just stared at her.

Watari sighed. "I'm sorry Noriko, but it would be for your protection."

"If I agree then I want to help with the case since I'm guessing I won't be allowed to do much else," Noriko glared at L who had raised a finger in the air to interrupt her. "You're listening whether you want to or not" she snapped at him. "I want to prove that Light isn't Kira, but if he some how is then I want to know. You can use me that way and you know it," Noriko finished.

"It would be quite beneficial to us," L mused.

"Yes it would. If I help you it would basically allow you to use me as you were trying to do in the first place."

"And you don't mind being used," L asked.

"Normally it would really piss me off, but I'm agreeing to this because I want to see for myself why you suspect Light, I think that's fair seeing as how you've been trying to use me from the beginning," Noriko answered.

L shrugged and looked over to Watari.

"I suppose it's settled then," the old man said with a kind smile.

"It would seem so. So, uh, when I can I go," she asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid it's going to be about another week before the hospital will be releasing you and I also have some preparations to make as well. I wasn't lying when I said we move around a lot," Watari replied.

Noriko groaned. "I think I might go crazy if I have to stay in this room much longer."

"At least the psychiatric ward isn't far," L said to her.

"Yeah, maybe you should pop in and say hello," Noriko grumbled.

L raised a thin eyebrow at her grumblings but didn't say anything.

"Well dear, I believe that visiting hours are about over, get some rest. It would also be preferred if this wasn't mentioned to anyone," Watari said.

"Ok, my mouth is shut," Noriko replied.

"That's a miracle," L mumbled over the tip of his thumb that was propped on his lower lip.

"Shut up Ryuga, L, whatever," Noriko snapped.

"Call me Ryuga," L said.

"I just did," Noriko mumbled.

Ryuga stood up from the chair and followed along after Watari as the older man headed for the door, he paused when he reached the door and turned back to Noriko.

"Can you bake," Ryuga asked.

Noriko blinked at him, but nodded. "Yeah, kind of."

"Good. In exchange for allowing you to help with the Kira case you have to bake for me," Ryuga stated.

"Seriously," Noriko asked incredulously.

"I think it's fair," he replied with a shrug.

"No it isn't, I've seen the amount of sugar you eat, that totally isn't fair," she cried.

"Did I mention there's a one percent chance that you're Kira," Ryuga asked.

"Oh, I'm so gonna kill you," Noriko growled at his antics.

"Two percent."

Ryuga didn't have time to move aside as a pillow collided with his face before plopping onto the sterile tile floor of the hospital room.

"Three p-"

"Get out," Noriko yelled.

A small grin pulled at the corners of Ryuga's mouth as he walked out of the hospital room shutting the door behind himself. He found the expressions on Noriko's face as well as her reactions quite amusing, he only hoped she wouldn't prove to be too much of a distraction.

* * *

"When can I leave? Tomorrow I'll have been here for two weeks and it's really starting to get annoying," Noriko whined.

"No more than another week Ms. Mori," the elderly male doctor assured her with a smile that reminded her of Watari.

Noriko groaned. "But I'm fine," she said.

"You may think so, but we just want to be sure. Your blood pressure is still a little low, and you're still a bit more sluggish than you should be. Just be patient, you'll be out of here soon," the doctor said.

"Alright," Noriko sighed.

Once the doctor left, Noriko turned the television on and waited for Light to stop by. He was currently still in class, but he would always stop by afterwards before heading home.

So to kill the time Noriko turned on the television and flipped through the channels for a few hours until her door creaked open and Light walked in. She flashed him a smile, happy that she now had company other than the television.

"Hey Light," she greeted happily.

"Hey," he answered as he set his bag down on the tile floor and stepped up to give Noriko a kiss before sitting down beside her bed.

"I should be able to get out of here soon, no more than a week," Noriko said.

"That's good, have you made up your mind to come and stay with me and my family, I think my dad would even rent us an apartment," Light replied.

"Uh, well..."

"Noriko," Light said slowly, like he was scolding a child.

"I kind of already have another place already lined up," Noriko replied as she scratched at her head and scrunched her face up slightly.

"Where," Light asked suspiciously.

Noriko chuckled nervously. "It's kind of a surprise."

Light raised a brown eyebrow at her and she fidgeted under his gaze and smiled uncertainly.

"A surprise," he asked.

"Yup, a surprise," Noriko answered quickly.

"Somehow I don't like the sound of this," Light sighed.

"Neither do I," Noriko sighed under her breath.

"What?"

"Uh, nothing," Noriko replied with a smile.

Light looked at her and shook his head.

"So how was class," she asked.

Light shrugged. "Alright I guess, a lot of talking about nothing I didn't already know."

"Figures," Noriko teased.

"It's nice to see you're back to normal," Light commented dryly.

"I like picking on you, it's fun. Besides I have way too much time on my hands right now and I'm bored," Noriko groaned dramatically.

"I know, but you'll be out of here soon."

"That's good to know, but you're going to be busy with school while I sit around doing nothing."

"I thought you were offered a job with the Yotsuba corporation," Light said.

"Yeah, but I don't know if I'll be able to take it," Noriko replied.

"Why not?"

"I somehow don't think I'll be up for it, at least not right away. I'm still going to need to take it easy and rest for awhile," Noriko answered.

'More like I'll be busy trying to prove you aren't Kira, and baking cakes,' she thought grumpily. 'Some twisted housewife I make.'

"You should definitely focus on yourself for a little while," Light agreed.

'Uh huh...' she thought.

"What about you? Will we be able to see each other much?"

"On the weekends at least, school will start getting pretty busy for me soon."

Noriko frowned. "Yeah, I figured as much. I'm surprised you find the time to stop in and see me everyday as it is."

"I'll make time though, so don't worry about it," he assured her.

"Good, you had better," she said with a smile.

The next hour was spent in casual conversation before Light decided it was time for him to stop in to see his dad before returning home. He had homework and classes in the morning, but he assured Noriko that he would try to stop in tomorrow afternoon.

With nothing to do yet again, Noriko began flipping through the stations. It was almost six and she figured that there might be something on that would entertain her for awhile.

"Huh."

As she was flipping through the channels she had passed by Sakura T.V., a station she usually avoided seeing as how most of the shows were utter nonsense. This time however she found herself going back to the station to see a man sitting before a television set that had a banner that read 'A Message From Kira, Four terrifying Videos' across it.

"Probably just more gibberish," she mumbled to herself, but kept the channel tuned to Sakura T.V.

"At exactly 5:59 PM we will be airing a video sent to us by Kira. As per Kira's instructions we have not viewed this video, but it contains a message to people all over the world," the man on the screen handed a tape to a young woman who disappeared off screen. " It is now 5:59 pm and we will begin the broadcast."

The signal became distorted and garbled and four letters written in English script appeared on the screen. They read KIRA.

A fuzzy, mechanical sounding voice crackled through the speakers, "I am Kira. If this video is being aired at precisely 5:59 pm on April the eighteenth then it is now 5:59 and 38, 39, 40 seconds... Please switch to Taiyo T.V, the news anchor, Mr Kazuhiko Hibima, will die of a heart attack at precisely 6:00 pm."

Noriko changed the channel and the second Taiyo T.V came into to view a male news anchor that was sitting between two females at a long, wooden desk suddenly gripped his chest and fell forward.

"No way," Noriko whispered, her eyes wide as she turned back to Sakura T.V.

"Mr. Hibima has constantly referred to Kira as evil in his broadcasts. This is his punishment," the distorted voice said when she switched back. "However, one demonstration alone does not serve as proof that I am Kira. So I will present you with another. The next target is a commentator who has also repeatedly condemned me. He is supposed to be appearing live on air now on channel 24 in the Kanto region."

Pressing the numbers into the remote, Noriko was becoming impatient as the channel took a few moments to appear. As it did so she saw that a rather large man had slumped back in his seat and people were gathering around the immobile man.

"This can't be happening," Noriko said in disbelief as she stared at the image on the screen.

She numbly pushed the buttons that would return her to Sakura T.V., unsure just how any of this was possible. She knew that Kira supposedly needed only a name and a face to kill but how could he control the time of death, that made no sense. It just wasn't possible in her mind. On top of that the people who had just been killed had done nothing more than voice their opinions that Kira was evil, they themselves had done no harm to anyone. They were innocent as far as she was concerned. It seemed a little odd that Kira would kill innocent people, there had only been the incident with Lind L. Taylor when Kira had killed someone that was threatening his position. Even that was different though that had seemed to be more like an act of passion, this was just plain murder in Noriko's head. Then again so were the killings being carried out by Kira, but there was a difference between innocent people and people who had done something wrong and deserved punishment. It still shouldn't be left up to a single person to rid the world of the people they deem evil, it just wasn't right.

The voice went on to say that Kira was a lover of justice and didn't think of the police as enemies, but that they were his allies against evil. Kira continued on to say that his goal was to create a just society that was free of evil and that if the police were to join and not attempt to capture him then no innocent people would die. A long winded speech ensued about how Kira planned on bringing about this new world and what was expected of the people and police.

"This is insane," Noriko breathed. "The police won't cooperate, they can't."

After a few more minutes of listening to the garbled voice, Noriko changed the channel and was confronted with yet another terrifying sight: A news crew had been set up in front of the Sakura T.V building and there was a man lying in front of the glass doors, he wasn't moving and from the looks of it he was dead. Paramedics arrived shortly after and the body of the man was carted away.

Noriko continued to watch the news broadcast that was live in front of the television building. The woman reporter was recapping what had happened on Sakura T.V and informing everyone to remain calm. There were sounds of screeching tires and a few screams as a large armored bus crashed through the glass doors of Sakura T.V.

She was able to catch a brief glimpse of legs stepping out of the bus before the person disappeared from view. Nothing else seemed to happen and everything went quiet. A police car pulled up just outside and two officers stepped from the vehicle and began to walk towards the building that was still broadcasting Kira's message.

They had only taken a few short steps when they both suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground.

Noriko pushed herself up in the bed and stared at the screen, she blinked her eyes a few times to try and be sure she was really seeing what she was seeing. The image on the screen started to move erratically as the camera crew decided it was no longer safe to be so close to the building and moved away.

The frightened voice of the female news caster informed the viewers that the broadcast from Sakura T.V, had been stopped but that the person who had entered the the station using the bus was still trapped inside.

Noriko tuned out the rest of the news casters words as she stared at the screen unable to fully comprehend everything she had witnessed. Five people had just been killed. Five, right before her eyes and the watchful eyes of millions of other people.

"Shinigami," she whispered blankly suddenly remembering that her father said the terrifying creatures could kill with just a name and face.

"Yes that's right," a grim voice said.

Blinking several times to return herself back to reality Noriko looked over to her left to see that her father was standing beside her bed and was watching the television with a frown and furrowed brow.

"So it's true, a shinigami is doing this? But why," she asked.

Her father shook his head. "No, it's not a shinigami doing this. This is the work of someone less frightening than a shinigami."

"Who, or what? No human can do what I just saw. It's impossible," Noriko argued.

"It isn't actually," her father replied.

"Then how," she asked.

"It's difficult to explain. But what you just saw, was indeed done by a human."

Noriko gaped at her father. "How is that possible? I don't understand."

"Just know that it is, there are things in this world, Noriko, that you don't need to understand right now. This is one of them," her father answered.

"That's just ridiculous," she said loudly. "You tell me shinigami exist, but this isn't being done by a shinigami, which just makes no sense. You also told me not to take off this necklace because it protects me from shinigami, but if this isn't being done by a shinigami then why should it matter?"

"Calm down Noriko. A shinigami isn't the one killing these people, someone else is. Someone who has been given the power of a shinigami. It's a power that no one should have, but it seems something has happened and now a very dangerous power has fallen into the hands of someone who wishes to use it for their own goals."

"Did Light do this," she asked seriously.

Her father frowned and she could see he was thinking of whether or not to answer and how to answer, finally he sighed and shook his head. "No."

Noriko let out a sigh of relief and laid back against the pillows, "That's good."

A brief flicker of emotion passed over Kiyoshi's face, but was gone as quickly as it had come and went unnoticed by Noriko as she stared up at the ceiling.

* * *

Light sat at his desk his cheek on his knuckles as he smirked at the broadcast of the self proclaimed Kira.

"I wonder if I can use this person," he said to the shinigami beside.

"This just got interesting," the shinigami, Ryuk, the same one Noriko had seen in her dreams replied.

"I think it's safe to say this person has the eyes, and I may be able to get them to help me get rid of L. Once L's out of the picture there will be no one to stop me, and Noriko will be safe too. I didn't even have to do anything to get rid of her stepdad, of course she nearly died, but at least she's still alive. I took care of her mother so now she has only me, and I'm all she'll ever need," Light said, a cold glint in his eyes as a proud smile spread across his face distorting his usually handsome visage into something far more sinister and frightening.

The strange looking shinigami chuckled at Light's back all the while thinking he had found some very interesting humans.

"This fake Kira is ruining the real Kira's image with the things he's been doing. Sending tapes to Sakura T.V and threatening to kill police chiefs. I can't let him run around for too long. The ideal situation right now would be for me to join the task force looking for Kira. That way I can stay on top of all what the fake Kira and L are both doing. I just need to figure out how to get in to contact with the fake Kira without giving out my name or showing my face," Light said as he paced his room in thought.

* * *

"I'd like your son to join the task force Mr Yagami, I think his deductive and reasoning skills may be of use to us," L said as he stuffed a strawberry in his mouth and began chewing.

The elder Yagami sighed. "If my son agrees then I see no reason why he shouldn't help."

"What about Ms. Mori," L asked as he dangled his fork between his thumb and forefingers just before his mouth, another red strawberry stuck to it.

Mr. Yagami blinked at L in confusion. "What about her?"

"Hmm," L said as he swallowed the strawberry and looked over to Mr Yagami. "How do you think she'll feel about your son helping in the investigation? He'll have very little time to spend with her, and given her current situation I would think she would want to be near him at all times."

"Noriko is very understanding, I don't think it'll be a problem," Mr Yagami answered.

"Well that's good," L replied.

Mr Yagami frowned at the young man that was huddled on the couch to his right and poking at a piece of strawberry shortcake. He was suspicious as to why he would have brought Noriko into the conversation, L was tricky and he wasn't sure he fully trusted his motives. After all he only wanted his son to join the task force so he could prove he was Kira. He wondered what interest he had in Noriko.

* * *

Please review!


	21. Chapter 21 The First Crack

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**The First Crack**

_Some say seeing is believing,_

_But what if the truth cannot be seen._

Light clicked his phone shut as an arrogant smile made its way to his lips.

"Just as I'm trying to find a way in they call me," he said. "Talk about good timing."

He made his way to his closet and pulled out a cream colored jacket."Damn, Noriko is supposed to be released today though." He shrugged the coat on as he spoke. "She says that she already has a ride lined up, but I don't know what she's up to. She said that a friend of her father's had arranged for a place for her to stay, but she was lying. Noriko has never been good lying."

Frustrated, Light stood before his desk for a moment and thought about calling her to see just where it was she was going, but knew if he pressed her too hard she might think he was being too possessive. Although he didn't care if he seemed possessive, she was his, and that's all there was to that. He figured he would talk to her later and she could explain herself then.

"I need to get as much information as I can about this fake Kira, not to mention I need to make sure that the investigation team doesn't find out about the Death Notes. Noriko will be fine, if not I'll kill anyone who touches her."

* * *

Noriko walked down the hall and to the door that Watari had pointed out to her. The elderly man had told her she would be staying in that particular room and that some of her belongings had already been brought and placed in the bedroom.

She was on the top floor of one of the nicest hotels in the prefecture. It could actually rival the hotel she had been placed in after Katsuo's escape. Eyeing the key to the room wearily, Noriko hesitated before dipping the card into the mechanism on the door. The little light flashed green and she turned the handle and stepped inside.

Shutting the door behind herself, Noriko suddenly felt a very strange sensation on the back of her neck, as if the hairs there were standing up on end. Blinking, she slowly turned around and...

Froze.

"Oh crap," she muttered.

The room was eerily quiet as five sets of eyes turned to stare at her.

She swallowed, now fully understanding the phrase 'a deer caught in the headlights'.

"Noriko, what are you doing here?"

Noriko chuckled nervously as she looked at Light who was standing besides his father who was standing besides a seated Ryuga. She also noticed Matsuda was there as was another man she didn't know.

"I, umm, I," she scratched at the back of her head and glared at Ryuga who had turned to look at her, his hands on his raised knees before him.

Light walked towards her after casting a rather pissed off glare in Ryuga's direction and clenching a fist. Ryuga didn't so much as look at him, only at Noriko who was silently begging him to come to her rescue, but of course the detective remained silent as he waited for her or Light to speak.

"Noriko, what are you doing here," he asked her again, a little quieter this time but the look in his eyes was telling her to answer and to do so quickly.

"I...Well, I, um, you see..." she stuttered nervously as she rubbed at her arms.

Light continued to stare at her but when he knew she wasn't going to be able to answer him he turned back to Ryuga.

"What is she doing here Ryuga," he asked barely able to keep the edge of anger out of his voice.

"Hmm," the dark eyed detective mused when he took his eyes from the uncomfortable Noriko to the angry Light. "Oh, I invited her to live here with me. I also think she might be quite beneficial to the investigation. After all, if you are Kira I'm sure she'd like to know."

"You told her you thought I was Kira," Light asked the anger quite evident now as he spoke.

"Yes, I did," Ryuga replied easily.

Light turned back to Noriko who tried not to jump and run away as his angry eyes met hers. "So do you think I'm Kira too?"

Noriko was utterly shocked, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she stared at Light. Sure she had had her suspicions before, but she no longer believed him to be Kira. On top of that, the messages sent to Sakura by Kira, weren't sent by him, her dad had said as much. Even though her dreams pointed her in the direction that he was Kira, she knew that dreams were fickle things, one thing could very well mean something completely different from how it was presented.

"You know Ryuga I don't appreciate you turning my own fiance against me," Light snapped, looking away from Noriko again.

"Light, I-"

"Noriko, why didn't you just tell me you were planning on helping in this investigation and that you thought I was Kira," Light asked.

Noriko shook her head frantically, she was beginning to lose control of her breathing and her chest was rising and falling rapidly as she struggled to not let tears form in her eyes. "I don't think you're Kira Light, I want to prove that to him," she said. She pointed at Ryuga with a shaking hand, her voice was on the edge of panic, rising with each word she spoke.

"Ryuga this is just low, trying to use Noriko against me. I won't let you though," Light said. "Come on, Noriko."

Noriko shook her head again. "I'm not leaving."

"Noriko, he's trying to use you to prove I'm Kira," Light argued.

"I know that," Noriko half shouted at him. "I agreed to let him use me, Light. I want to help with this case, I want to prove you aren't Kira. I can help, Light."

"No."

"She has already made the decision, Light-kun, are you really going to take away her free will," Ryuga asked.

Light clenched his fist as he turned to look at Ryuga,."Of course not," he snapped.

"Then what's the problem," Ryuga asked.

"The problem is that she's my fiance and you are trying use her like some kind of pawn in your game to prove I'm Kira," Light retorted.

"I have to agree with my son," Mr Yagami said, speaking for the first time. "Using her the way you are trying to Ryuzaki is wrong. I knew her father and I made a promise to look after her, I won't let you-"

"I am still here you know," Noriko shouted. "I am capable of making my own decisions. I've been doing it for years you know. I'm staying."

The entire room quieted, everyone turned to Noriko who was shaking with the effort to control the sobs that threatened to consume her body, tears trailed down her face as she stared at the floor before her.

"Nori," Light said softly, stepping towards her. "You shouldn't be here, this isn't a safe place for you."

Noriko smacked Light's hand away when he tried to put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Where's my room?"

"The door on the left," Ryuga answered immediately.

"I'm staying. It's my choice, I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to this. I am capable of taking care of myself Light. I am doing this for you, for us, but it's obvious you don't trust me-"

"Nori-"

"Shut up, Light," Noriko ordered wearily, wiping away a few of the tears that were leaking from her bright green eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't speak with you about it, but it really wasn't any of your concern. Besides if you're here helping as well, what's the problem? You'll be here, you'll be able to keep an eye on me since you don't seem to trust me."

"The problem is this is dangerous, I don't want you involved. I do trust you Noriko, I'd rather you stayed out of this though," Light replied.

"Why? Because he's only trying to use me to prove you're Kira or is there another reason?"

"I love you Noriko, that's the only reason. I don't want you to get hurt," Light replied.

"It's a little late for that," Noriko said as she turned away from a shocked Light and disappeared through the door on her left.

After closing the door behind her, Noriko sank to the floor and brought her knees up to her chest. Resting her warm forehead against her knees, she let out a soft sigh as the tears continued to trickle from her eyes.

Wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, Noriko stood up and looked around the room. It was a fairly large room with a queen sized bed pressed up against the wall opposite the door, it was draped in fluffy cream colored sheets and had a red comforter that was pulled back to the edge of the bed. The walls of the room were a dark beige and the two nightstands on either side of the bed as well as the dresser to the left were all made of a very fine dark wood. She noted two doors on the right wall, one led into what seemed to be her own bathroom while the other slid open to reveal a spacious closet that had some of her clothing neatly hung up inside.

Setting her bag down on the dresser, she opened the drawers to find more of her belongings neatly folded into the drawers.

Grabbing a few things, she made her way to the bathroom and turned on the hot water. After undressing she had to peel off the bandages that were wrapped around her abdomen before peeling away the gauze that was over the actual wound.

She grimaced at what she saw. There were black stitches holding together very red and raised skin that was still very sore. The skin was beginning to knit itself back together, but it was still healing and parts of the wound were scabbed over.

Showering carefully, Noriko washed her hair and body before turning the shower off and standing motionlessly in the stall for several minutes as water dripped from her hair and rolled down her naked body.

Sighing and shaking her head, she grabbed the towel from the rack and dried herself off before slipping into a pair of wide legged, black yoga pants and a loose fitting black t-shirt. She stepped into the bedroom to retrieve the bag she had set on the dresser, she needed to re-wrap the wound and the bandages she needed were in the bag.

After several failed attempts to wrap the bandages around herself, Noriko frowned and dropped all the supplies on to the bed before standing and walking over to the door. She cracked it open a few centimeters to look out, but couldn't really see anything so she opened it fully and stepped in to the room.

Light looked up from the chair that Ryuga had been sitting in earlier, he was writing something down, but dropped the pencil and stood up when she stepped towards him.

"I'm sorry, Noriko," he admitted, looking at her downcast face.

The four other occupants in the room, who were scattered about doing different things all turned away as Light pulled Noriko into a hug.

She winced, and pulled back slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't hurt you, did I," he asked in concern as he looked down at her side.

She shook her head. "No, but I need your help, I can't re-bandage it on my own."

"Oh, ok. Hold on just a second. Ryuzaki, I'm done with this. What do you think," Light asked, handing the dark haired man the paper he had been writing.

Noticing Noriko's confused expression, Light spoke up again. "Here everyone calls him Ryuzaki."

"Oh," Noriko replied.

Light sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair. "Come on let's get the bandages redone. Ryuzaki, I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Hmm, oh yes. This is very well done, I'm not sure about this 'you can kill L' part though," Ryuzaki replied as he held the paper before his face.

Noriko blinked. "What?"

"He asked me to write a script to air in response to the message that was broadcast by Kira. You can remove that part, it was just a joke, I figured that if the real Kira didn't encourage it, it might be viewed as fake," Light replied.

"The real Kira," Noriko asked in confusion. "You mean the one who sent those tapes to Sakura wasn't the real Kira?"

"No, it was a second Kira," Ryuzaki replied casually though he continued to read over the paper he held before his face.

"So now there's two people in this world who can kill by just seeing names and faces," Noriko asked without really thinking.

"No, this one is different, they don't seem to need a name, just a face," Ryuzaki answered.

"I see," Noriko replied.

"You don't sound like you're surprised someone else has gained this power," Ryuzaki said as he looked to Noriko who was staring blankly off into space.

Noriko turned her head to him and shrugged. "There are things in this world that can't be explained, who am I to question them?"

"Yes, I suppose that's true," Ryuzaki replied, but he continued to stare at Noriko with his big, dark eyes.

"Come on, Noriko," Light said, gently taking her elbow so that he could guide her back to her room, shutting the door behind them once inside.

"All the band-"

"You can't just say stuff like that in front of him," Light whispered fiercely.

"Huh?"

"I saw the way he was looking at you, he thinks you know more than you're saying, Noriko."

Noriko tweaked a brow at him. "And what if I do?"

"What do you mean," Light asked, his shock and confusion clearly written on his face.

"Nothing," Noriko sighed.

"I know you better than that, Noriko, what do you mean?"

"I mean I already knew he was L and I know you don't actually trust him. You think of him as an enemy, I just don't know why," Noriko replied angrily.

"How did-"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What's gotten into you, Noriko? Of course I trust him, why wouldn't I?"

"Maybe because he's hell bent on proving you're Kira and he's using your fiance, I don't know Light. But from the moment you met him, you didn't like him. Speaking of which, just how long have you known he was L," Noriko was practically yelling by now and her anger was evident in her face and narrowed eyes.

"Since the entrance ceremony, he told me then," Light replied.

"So have you known this whole time that he suspected you of being Kira?"

"Yeah, he-"

"And you didn't think that telling your fiance was a good idea, why?!"

"Look who's talking. You just walked in to a hotel room to live with another guy," Light argued.

"Yeah, well were you planning on telling me you joined the task force, or was that just going to conveniently slip your mind," Noriko shot back.

"My dad called me earlier today and told me that L wanted my help on the case-"

"And you didn't think about calling me first to see if I'd be okay with it, did you," Noriko interrupted.

"I've helped on cases before, I didn't know I needed your permission to-"

"Exactly, Light," Noriko shouted. "I didn't know I needed your permission. And on top of that this was all his idea," she said as she cast a hand towards the door. "I didn't have much choice."

"You _said_ it was your choice."

"To help with the investigation, yes. I made him agree to let me help since he wanted to _provide_ me with a place to stay. I know he's only trying to piss you off and create a rift between us because he figures if you _are_ Kira you'll do something drastic. Right now he's doing very well at pissing the both of us off, we're doing just what he wants Light," Noriko said angrily.

"Except I'm not Kira. I really want to kill him right now though."

"See now that would be something drastic," Noriko replied sarcastically.

"I was joking."

"I know."

The two stood staring at each other for a few minutes not speaking just trying to get the other to back down. Neither would though, they were both too proud to back down.

"Never mind Light," Noriko sighed as she shook her head. "Please just go. We've never fought like this, we've never fought in general really. I don't like it, but it seems we aren't going to see eye to eye on this, so please just go."

"Noriko-"

"Go."

"Fine," Light sighed. "I love you Noriko, but I don't agree with you being here. I want you to go home."

"I don't have a home remember," she shot back angrily.

"Yes you do, you belong with me, Noriko. You'll always have a place to call home as long as I'm around."

Noriko snorted and crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at Light who sighed and walked out of the room.

"Stupid men," she mumbled under her breath.

She turned back to the bed and rolled her eyes when she saw all the bandages.

"Crap," she said before turning to walk to her door. "Ryuzaki," she called.

She saw him hunched up in the same chair he had been in earlier, a cherry dangling between his fingertips as he raised it to his mouth, but stopped to turn and look at her, the cherry poised in the air.

"Yes," he asked.

"Would you come here please," she asked, trying to sound sweet, but failing miserably.

"I'd rather not," he muttered.

"I'll bake you a cake," Noriko sang.

A thin, dark eyebrow rose in thought for a moment before he stood from the chair stuffing the cherry in his mouth and tossing the stem on to the table. He shoved his hands in his pocket as he walked over to her.

Light watched with narrowed eyes as Ryuzaki went into Noriko's room and the door was shut behind them.

"Don't worry about Noriko, Light. I may not agree with her being here either, but she's made up her mind, all we can do is let her be, and make sure she stays safe. Ryuzaki won't let anything happen to her, I actually think he kind of likes her," Mr Yagami said.

"Yeah, well he better keep his hands off her," Light mumbled angrily.

"Noriko wouldn't allow that, Light," Mr Yagami stated.

'She better not,' Light thought as he stared at the door to her bedroom, 'L is dead as soon as I can find this second Kira.'

* * *

"Do you have to hold everything like that," Noriko asked in annoyance as Ryuzaki held the bandages that he was slowly winding around her with just his thumb and pointer finger.

"Is there a problem with how I hold things," he asked.

"You look like a freak," Noriko replied. "Ow!"

"Sorry."

Noriko glared at the man that was crouched beside her as they wrapped the wound back up.

"Do that again and I won't bake you a cake," Noriko muttered. "Ow!"

"Sorry, Watari is better at these thing than I am."

"Yeah well he isn't here at the moment."

"Are you going to be able to help with the case knowing that Light-kun doesn't want you here," Ryuzaki asked.

"Yes, of course," she replied indignantly.

"Even though I believe he's Kira and I've never been wrong before," he asked.

"You're unusually talkative," Noriko muttered. "But yes, I...Well a part of me can understand why you think he's Kira."

"Really," he mused, as he stood up to face her, shoving his hands back into his pockets.

Noriko looked at the bandages and shrugged, they weren't perfect but, she pulled her shirt over them and sighed.

"I'd rather not explain myself right now, I'm tired and quite honestly I don't feel very good," she said.

"Of course. I do have one question though. What really happened to your arm," Ryuzaki asked.

"Huh," Noriko asked, cocking her head at him in confusion, he was looking at the scar from the bus incident. "Oh, I already told you."

"Yes, but you told the Yagami's something different."

Noriko blinked at him. "What are you talking about?"

"You told Mrs Yagami that you had cut it while making coffee and you dropped the pot and slipped. You told Watari-"

"I know what I said, but how do you," Noriko cut in.

Ryuzaki looked a little irritated at having been cut off, but answered anyways. "There were cameras in the Yagami household. I heard you say it and I saw the way you fidgeted, you were lying. You also glanced at Light for help, what happened?"

"I...I wasn't in my right mind and tried to slice my wrist alright, I'd really rather not talk about it," Noriko replied haughtily.

"That's a lie."

Noriko glared at him, why was he pushing the matter, what did it matter.

"If you had tried to kill yourself, I think someone as smart as you would have done a better job. The cut is too uneven and crooked," Ryuzaki replied.

"Is there a reason why you're interrogating me," she asked.

"You're hiding something. I want to know what."

Noriko swallowed, the look in his dark eyes was determined and calculating as he stared at her. "Light and I were on the bus that was hijacked by the guy who had killed people in Shinjuku. He blasted out the back window and a piece of the glass cut my arm," Noriko said a little unwillingly.

"I see, why didn't you stay and speak with the police?"

"I was a little more than freaked out at the time and Light wanted to get me far away from the sight of the guy's dead body. I watched the guy get run over, I wasn't in any condition to answer a bunch of questions. Not so soon after the whole thing with Katsuo at least," Noriko answered.

"Did you meet anyone on the bus, an F.B.I agent perhaps," Ryuzaki asked.

Noriko started slightly and stared at the raven haired detective.

'Do I tell him that we met that one man, Raye Pember, I think it was? Or do I lie?' Noriko asked.

'She's trying to think of an answer, the way she's hesitating leads me to believe that she and Light may have come into contact with an agent. If that's the case that may be the missing link I need to prove Light is Kira. Although the only proof is her word and that may not be enough, especially if she doesn't know anything else. But...No she's still hiding something. She wasn't surprised when I told her I was L and suspected her fiance. You would think a female who learned that her fiance was possibly a mass murderer would freak out, but she was calm, too calm. Not to mention she seemed to easily accept the idea of another Kira without hesitation saying that there were things that couldn't be explained in the world...What else does she know?' Ryuzaki thought as he stared at Noriko and chewed on the tip of his thumb.

* * *

Please review!


	22. Chapter 22 Dawning Realizations

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

* * *

**Chapter 22**

**Dawning Realizations**

"_Did you meet anyone on the bus, an F.B.I agent perhaps?"_

* * *

"Actually we did, why," Noriko replied casually as she gazed at the dark eyed man.

"Do you remember the name of the person you met," Ryuzaki asked.

"Raye something or other, I wasn't exactly paying attention, I was a little busy trying not to freak out," Noriko answered, a tad angry at the interrogation she found herself involved in.

"Penber, his name was Raye Penber," Ryuzaki corrected, watching Noriko intently.

Noriko tried not to fidget under the rather intimidating dark eyes. "That sounds right, but what does it matter? I'm guessing the man was following Light around, especially after it became apparent that Kira was somehow getting police information."

"You're right, he was following Light as a suspect, under my orders. He's also dead, died of a heart attack on December 27th. So did several other members of the F.B.I that were in Japan," Ryuzaki said, his voice was monotonous as he spoke.

"I already knew that, Mr Yagami had mentioned it the day after at a family dinner. It was the same dinner that Light swore he would capture Kira if anything were to happen to his father," Noriko stated forcefully.

"You said earlier you could understand my suspicion of Light, why?"

Noriko frowned and looked away. "I know Light very well, he's the type that would do drastic things if he thought it would better the world. His intentions would of course be pure, but that doesn't mean his actions would be."

"That's not much of an answer," Ryuzaki complained unhappily.

Her eyes narrowed. "What do you expect me to say, that I saw him doing something incriminating or unusual? Well, I haven't. He's been the typical straight A student he always has been, there were times he seemed a little distant but given the fact that exams were approaching I think it's understandable."

"It is," Ryuzaki agreed blandly. "I have just one more question."

"What is it," she asked grumpily.

"Naomi Misora."

Noriko's eyes widened at the name and she looked up at Ryuzaki in confusion.

"The name is familiar to you."

"Well, yeah. She was in the newspaper after she disappeared a few months ago," Noriko replied.

"Yes, she was. You didn't by chance ever see her, did you?"

Noriko hesitated and looked away from the inquiring dark eyes. "Why?"

"The day that paper came out was the day you first met Watari, he thought you seemed distracted."

"You think I had something to do with all this, don't you," Noriko asked in surprise, turning to stare at the messy haired detective in front of her.

"It's possible."

"You're so damn frustrating! If I had something to do with this, you'd know by now. I'm sure you've noticed already that I suck at lying," Noriko snapped heatedly, her voice rising as she spoke.

Ryuzaki cringed at Noriko's raised voice and would have said something if the door hadn't swung open to reveal a rather frustrated looking Light. He looked from the bored looking Ryuzaki to the red faced and fuming Noriko.

"Is there a problem," Light asked as he stepped in to the room.

"No, I was just speaking with your fiance about Naomi Misora and Raye Penber, but I think I upset her," Ryuzaki replied before turning and leaving the room without another room.

Light opened his mouth to say something to Noriko, but Ryuzaki's disheveled black hair reappeared in her doorway along with his pale face.

"So when do I get that cake," Ryuzaki asked.

Noriko growled in frustration before grabbing a pillow and tossing it at the man's head, Ryuzaki easily stepped out of the way and looked down at the pillow as it plopped uselessly on to the plush carpet.

"That's not a cake," Ryuzaki stated.

"Get out," Noriko yelled and threw another pillow at his head.

Shrugging, Ryuzaki turned away and walked off. "Tomorrow will be good, I'll have the items you'll need placed in the kitchen. I like strawberry shortcake, or anything with sugar really. Oh, and white icing, I don't particularly feel like chocolate."

Noriko shouted out angrily and threw another pillow at the wall just for good measure.

"Are you alright," Light asked as he stepped towards her.

"What do you think," Noriko snapped."I was beaten and shot, found out my fiance may be Kira by a stupid, sugar obsessed detective that looks like he doesn't even own a brush and then he goes and implies that I may have something to do with the disappearance of that Naomi Misora woman that I-"

Light quickly cut her off before she could say she had seen him with Naomi. "He's just testing you Noriko, calm down before you hurt yourself."

"Calm down, Light?!" Noriko shouted, she was way passed calming down at this point. "No, I won't calm down! You can't even begin to understand how pissed off I am right now and not just at Mr Sugar Freak out there-"

"I resent that comment," Ryuzaki's voice called from the other room.

Noriko clenched her fists. "Would you prefer I called you something else, say-"

"Ryuzaki is fine," he called back, interrupting her.

"Noriko, really you need to calm down," Light said as he tried to place a comforting hand around her shoulders.

"Screw you," she snapped. Swatting his hands off her, Noriko glared at Light. "You weren't so nice earlier when I was going against what you wanted me to do. I may be your fiance, but I refuse to let you order me around and expect me to listen and be obedient. So just shove it and leave me alone."

"Noriko I was worried about you, this is part of the reason. You're already upset and right now you should still be resting and letting yourself heal, not worrying about this stuff. I really wish you'd reconsider this, but if you're sure, then I'll be here for you. I just want you to be careful."

Noriko sighed and let most of her anger go and closed her eyes. "I'm staying here."

"Alright. I'm not going to lie, I'm not okay with it, but it's your decision," Light said.

"It is. I think I'm going to get some rest I don't feel all that great at the moment," Noriko replied as she crawled up the bed and made to lay down. She frowned however when she noticed that she didn't have any pillows.

"Here," Light chuckled, setting the pillows on the bed for her before placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks."

"Do you need anything," he asked.

"No, I think I'll be fine. Go and help that jerk find Kira," she replied haughtily.

"Get some rest, Noriko, I love you."

"Love you too," she answered as he reached the door.

* * *

"Ryuzaki," Noriko said sweetly, once again swatting the detective's hand out of the cake batter on the kitchen counter.

"Hmm," he hummed. Blinking up at her, his eyes large and innocent, he popped his batter covered finger into his mouth.

"Get out of this kitchen before I throw you out," she replied, her voice losing all sweetness at the end when she glared at the dark eyed man before her.

Ryuzaki stared at her for a moment all the while sneakily reaching for the strawberries that were in a bowl on the counter. Noticing his arm moving, Noriko looked down and followed his hand to where it was plucking a strawberry out of the bowl. She whacked the top of his hand, causing him to drop the strawberry back into the bowl before looking up at her, a challenge in his dark eyes.

"Out," she ordered gruffly, she pointed to the living room that was beyond the kitchen while glaring at the detective.

Ryuzaki seemed to contemplate her words for a moment before deciding to ignore them, after all, no one ever bossed him around. He was the one who one who did the bossing around and he wasn't about to let the girl in front of him, who only came to his shoulders and was glaring daggers at him, be the first to tell him what to do.

"Is that a spider," Ryuzaki asked. Looking behind Noriko, squinting slightly as if he couldn't quite see something, he studied the wall intently.

"What, where," Noriko cried as she spun around to look behind her.

"It went over there," Ryuzaki said.

As strange and unbelievable as it may sound, spiders had a tendency to chase after poor Noriko when she hadn't done anything to provoke them. She didn't like spiders much, even if she was larger than the rather small ones she came into contact with, and so she was rather paranoid whenever she was in the vicinity of one. Noriko continued to look around the kitchen counter warily before deciding she was in no danger of being chased by a spider. She sighed and turned back to the mixing bowl that contained the cake batter she was preparing to pour into the two round pans. Noticing something seemed to be off she placed her hands on the counter, her fingers tapping at the granite counter top as her lips twitched.

The bowl that had the halved strawberries was missing.

"I don't suppose you know where the strawberries went, do you, Ryuzaki," Noriko called.

"Mmum, No," was the reply.

Noriko's hands tightened on the counter top before she took a deep breath and stepped away from the counter. She grabbed the cake batter with one hand and left the kitchen.

Matsuda was the first to notice Noriko's strange look while she approached Ryuzaki with the cake batter in her hands. He elbowed the man standing next to him who Noriko had been told was named Aihara. She knew the name was a fake, it was rather obvious when she was told that while working on the case Matsuda was Matsui and Mr Yagami was Asahi. Aihara turned to snap at Matsuda but he stopped when he saw that he was watching Noriko approach the black haired detective. Mr Yagami looked up from his seat on the couch when he too noticed Noriko and watched her curiously.

Ryuzaki was knelt in his usual odd position in a plush chair, the bowl of strawberries placed on the table in front of him.

"Hey, Ryuzaki," Noriko asked, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. "Did I mention that the cake was done?"

"I may not know how to cook, but don't you need to bake it," the detective asked, not bothering to turn around to look at Noriko.

"Haven't you heard of the new no bake desserts," Noriko replied, the sugar almost literally dripping from her tongue as she spoke.

Sensing something was off with Noriko's unusually nice and happy tone, Ryuzaki turned in the chair to look at her. His eyes narrowed slightly when he saw the evil glint in her bright green eyes and the bowl she had held out before her. "What are you-"

He stopped talking as Noriko lifted the bowl and dumped the rather wet and thick contents on to his head. The batter spread over his dark hair before dripping down into his face and plopping off his nose and chin. Once satisfied that most of it was on his head and not in the bowl, she dropped the bowl into his lap and dusted off her hands proudly.

"Now, if you still want me to make you a cake... Stick your damned head in the oven," she had begun with a large grin on her face but it faded as she finished in a huff and turned away.

"I think it needs more sugar," Ryuzaki mumbled, licking at the batter that was running down his face.

Noriko paused for a moment before stalking back into the kitchen only to reemerge a moment later with a measuring cup that was filled with a white substance.

"Here," she said and proceeded to dump the cup, which was full of sugar, over his head making the already sticky mess he was covered in even more sticky and thick as globs of the batter fell onto his white shirt and his jeans.

"Better," Ryuzaki mumbled around his finger, he collected some of the sugary substance on to his finger and stuck it in his mouth.

Noriko snorted at him before letting out an exasperated sigh and walking to her bedroom, slamming her door shut behind her.

Ryuzaki turned to Matsuda who was snickering at the sight of Ryuzaki's hair that was now weighted down by the heavy white liquid that was dripping from the ends and sliding down his face.

"Is there something you find funny about the situation, Matsui," Ryuzaki asked, casting a look at the man.

"N-n-n-no," he choked out after Aihara elbowed him roughly in the side even though a smirk was tugging at the corners of his lips too.

"That man is infuriating," Noriko hissed angrily as she plopped herself on to her bed with a small wince.

"He's just testing you, Noriko, seeing how far you'll go and what your reactions are. Right now, he may think you have anger issues."

Noriko's brows knitted together and she looked to her left to see that her father was walking towards her, a grin on his face.

"You haven't been around much lately," Noriko pointed out as he approached the bed.

The grin on his face faded. "Sorry about that," he answered, scratching at the back of his head.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"I asked why, I think it's a fairly simple question."

"Well, it is."

"Then..."

"I had a date."

"Riiiggghhht."

"What?"

"Dad?"

"Yes, sweetheart."

"Shut up."

"That's awfully mean," he replied with a pout.

Noriko sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, whatever. If you don't want to tell me that's fine, after all it's not exactly normal to be haunted by your dead father."

"I suppose."

"You suppose, jeez dad, it may be normal for me now, but if I were to tell anyone I see my dead dad and talk to him and he tells me I have some role to play in this Kira business. I think I'd be institutionalized."

There was no answer and so Noriko looked around the room and sighed when she noticed her father had once again disappeared.

The hotel room door opened and Light walked in, he stared at the sugary detective who had stood up from the chair and was munching on a strawberry. He looked at Ryuzaki to Matsuda who was struggling not to laugh.

"Noriko," Light asked.

Matsui nodded in response.

Light sighed and turned towards Noriko's bedroom.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you," Ryuzaki warned evenly.

"Why," Light asked, walking to her door and knocking once. Without waiting for a response, he opened the door only to swing it shut when a clock came flying at his head.

He heard the object hit the door with a loud thump and then clatter to the ground. He blinked at the door before turning to Ryuzaki who was looking at him innocently as if he had no idea what would cause Noriko to act so violently.

"What did you do," Light demanded.

"I may have criticized her baking skills at one point," Ryuzaki replied, nibbling on the tip of his thumb.

"Right," Light replied skeptically, he turned back to the door and knocked again,."Noriko, it's me, Light. Can I come in?"

"Yes, but if that ass tries to came in I'll put his cake covered head in the oven myself," she called.

Light glanced at Ryuzaki one more time as he opened the door, Ryuzaki shrugged his shoulders and slumped off.

"What happened," Light asked once he shut the door behind him.

"Now what gave you the idea that anything happened," Noriko asked sarcastically.

"Well Ryuzaki is covered in what I'm guessing is cake batter and sugar, that kind of gave it away," Light replied with a smirk as he sat next to Noriko who was laid out on the bed.

A smirk tugged at Noriko's lips, "Ryuzaki covered in cake batter, huh? Sounds like he should learn not to pester the baker."

"I thought you two got along?"

"We do. When he's not interrogating me or telling me you're Kira. Oh, and when he's not being a spoiled little kid," Noriko said, although the last part came out as more of a shout.

"I'm not spoiled," came a mumbled response from the living area.

Light chuckled. "I think you just need to relax, Noriko. You shouldn't be stressing yourself out this much after getting out of the hospital."

"Blah blah."

"How very grown up of you."

"Oh, shut up," Noriko retorted, crossing her arms over her chest as she pouted.

"I should really get out there, do you need anything," Light asked.

"I'm hungry and thirsty, but if I go out there I can't guarantee that the world's best detective will keep all his hair...or limbs for that matter."

"I'll get you something to eat, just sit back and relax alright," Light said as he kissed her gently and stood up.

"Alright," Noriko sighed. "Oh, I need to take my medication, too. So I need a glass of water."

"Ok, I'll be right back."

* * *

Noriko didn't bother to venture out of the room until the following day when she overheard a slight commotion in the living room. Opening the door, she peaked her head out and looked around. Ryuzaki was crouched in his chair, all the cake batter seemed to be gone from his hair and clothes. Light was standing to the left of the chair, his hands folded over his chest as he stared at the laptop that was on the table a few feet in front of them. Mr Yagami, Matsuda and Aihara all stood off to the right, their eyes trained on the laptop as well.

Stepping into the living room, Noriko walked up beside Light and slipped her hand under his arm. Turning towards her, Light smiled and intertwined his fingers with hers before letting his hands fall to his sides.

A few seconds later, an image appeared on the screen of the laptop. It was the same that she had seen a few days prior, the English script that proclaimed the person to be Kira, the fake Kira anyways.

"I will do as you say," a garbled voice declared."I want to meet you, Kira. I don't think you have the eyes, but I won't kill you. Don't worry."

"Eyes," Noriko questioned quietly, before wincing and looking down at her hand. Light's grip had tightened against her hand to the point that his nails were digging into her skin. She looked up into his face and was surprised to see that there was apprehension there, frowning she turned her attention back to the voice coming from the laptop.

"Please think of a way we can meet without the police knowing. We can confirm one another by showing our Shinigami."

Noriko's eyes widened and she sucked in a deep breath at the mention of Shinigami, a loud thump forced her to look down to Ryuzaki who had let out a short cry and tipped over his chair. He was sitting on the ground, staring unbelievingly at the computer before him.

"Shinigami, are we supposed to believe such things," he asked.

"Shinigami, no way," Matsuda replied quietly.

"You're right, Ryuzaki. Shinigami can't possibly exist," Light said calmly.

Noriko looked over to Light as he released her hand which she unconsciously brought to her chest and began to absently rub at the sore skin.

"Kira made a prisoner write something that suggested the existence of Shinigami," Ryuzaki stated while he pushed himself off the floor.

"So should we assume that this is the same Kira? The same person using the same word," Mr Yagami asked.

"That's impossible dad," Light replied. "If this were the same Kira..."

Noriko let Light's voice fade away as she continued to stare thoughtfully at him as she rubbed at the nail marks in the pale skin of her hand, 'Why would he react that way? Get so tense over someone mentioning eyes and Shinigami? I remember my dad making a comment that Shinigami can see a person's name and life span, were the eyes that this fake Kira was talking about the eyes of a Shinigami? If that were the case, why would Light respond in that way, it makes no sense...Unless...'

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt and she gasped, her hands dropping to her sides as she turned her head away from Light. She focused her eyes on the floor where Ryuzaki had been moments before.

What she hadn't noticed was that Ryuzaki had been discreetly watching her from the corners of his eyes as she stared at Light while the conversation of Shinigami and possible meanings went on around her. He noticed the marks on her hand as her fingers tried to soothe the pain. His eyes narrowed when her eyes seemed to widen in realization of something and she looked quickly away from Light, her breathing slightly quicker than normal.

"What do you think, Noriko," he asked.

"What," she asked, her attention abruptly recalled to the conversation around her.

"Do you think Shinigami exist?"

"Uh, I don't know," she replied lamely to the detective's question.

"I see," Ryuzaki said as he stared at her through the bangs that were hanging over his face.

"You look a little pale Noriko, are you alright," Light asked.

Still in a little bit of a daze Noriko blinked at Light for a few moments before nodding slowly. "I'm still not feeling very well, I think I'm going to get some water and go lay back down."

"I'll get the water for you, go lay-"

"No," Noriko interjected quickly, realizing the strange looks she was getting, she spoke again. "I think you're needed here, I'll be fine, promise," she said with a small, fake smile.

"Alright, if you need anything though let me know," Light said, his eyes on Noriko when she began to walk away.

"Hmmm, it seems your little girl is becoming suspicious all over again," the Shinigami that floated behind Light cackled. Light tossed a small glare at the being warning him to shut up.

Light saw Noriko pause at her door and cock her head to the side like she had heard something, but wasn't sure just what she had heard. Shaking her head, she disappeared into her bedroom.

* * *

Noriko lay in the dark on the soft bed, her hands resting over her stomach while she stared into the darkness around her.

'I know Shinigami exist, my dad said as much. If I were to say that I believed in Shinigami I'm sure Ryuzaki would ask me for an explanation. What am I supposed to say 'my dead dad told me, duh.' Somehow that doesn't sound very believable, or sane. The way Light reacted though, it was like he knew what was being said and couldn't believe it was being said. I couldn't either though, I mean why hint at the existence of a supernatural being that very few know exist...'

Her thoughts trailed off and she sighed, letting her eyes droop close. "Where's that father of mine when I need him. I would like to ask him more about Shinigami and how all of this is possible."

Hoping that if she voiced her desire for her father to be present would cause the man to show up Noriko was disappointed when after several minutes there was no sign of him.

Several hours past and Noriko found herself drifting off to sleep when the door to her room creaked open. Lifting her head off the pillow, she squinted at the bright light pouring through the door. Light flicked on the lights and Noriko shut her eyes against the harsh glare and pulled a pillow over her head.

"Hey, are you alright," he asked in concern, taking the pillow off her head.

"Fine," she answered.

"That's not very convincing," Light replied.

"Sorry, I'm just tired."

"Oh."

There was a short silence before Noriko spoke up again, voicing her thoughts from earlier. "Do you believe in Shinigami, Light?"

"Of course not, it's impossible for something like that to exist."

"Of course."

Light frowned at Noriko's back, he knew she was hiding something, what, he didn't know.

"I was about to head home," Light informed her.

"Oh, have a good night."

"That's it, I don't get a kiss or anything?"

"Sure," Noriko replied with little emotion. She lifted herself off and placed a quick kiss on Light's lips.

"Good night, Noriko," Light sighed in disappointment. He stood up and walked back to the door, after turning the lights off ,he glanced back at the figure in the bed.

'She's distancing herself from me, but why? Is she really beginning to believe I'm Kira? She had her doubts before, which I was able to get rid of, but...If she's doubting me again, that could be a problem, she knows me a lot better than anyone here. Even better than my dad. Which is understandable, not all parents know their children as well as the friends they confide in. There's a possibility that she can make the connections needed for L to confirm I am Kira, I'll have to keep an eye on her for now,' he thought as he shut the door.

Noriko stared off into the darkness for several minutes after hearing the door to the hotel close when Light left.

"What's wrong, Noriko?" her dad's voice asked from the shadows beside her bed.

"Why is that you only seem to show up when Light's not around? I didn't notice it at first, but you've popped up at odd times and around other people, but never when Light's around. Why is that dad?"

* * *

Please review!


	23. Chapter 23 The Truth

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note, I do own Death Note manga, does that count?

* * *

**Chapter 23**

**The Truth**

Noriko stared blankly up at the darkened ceiling of the hotel room, contemplating what her father had said in answer to her question about why he would never show up when Light was around.

"It's not Light," he had said. "It's the one you can't see."

She had been so confused by the statement that she had tried getting more information from him, but he refused to talk about it anymore, telling her that she would know soon enough. It had her on edge now, her father was gone and the entire hotel room was quiet, she was tempted to go into the other room and curl up on the sofa there. The rest of the detectives had left for the night and she knew that Ryuzaki would be out there sitting in his usual armchair, his knees pulled into his chest and nibbling at the tip of his thumb while he stared at the laptop he had set on the table before him.

"It's the one I can't see," she mumbled to herself. "What is that supposed to mean? Is there someone following Light... No that can't be right, because then why would dad still not show up even when Light comes here."

She inhaled a deep, long breath before releasing it slowly and scooting off the edge of the bed. She was in a pair of long pajama pants, black with pink stripes and a black t-shirt with her hair pulled into a messy ponytail. Grabbing a blanket from the edge of the bed and wrapping it around herself before going to her door and opening it quietly, she saw what she had expected. Ryuzaki in the same armchair as usual with his toes hanging over the edge of the chair and thumb brought up to his lips.

Hesitating for a moment, she stepped out of the room and walked over to the couch that was to Ryuzaki's right. She sat down in a position similar to his, but she rested her head on her knees and stared at the monitor he was looking at. There was currently what looked like a time line of the past several months on the display.

"Can I ask you a question, as long as I'm not bothering you, of course," Noriko asked, a little quieter and shyly than she had meant to sound.

Ryuzaki, who had yet to look at her, took a quick glance at her from the corner of his narrowed eyes. "If I can ask you something in return."

"I suppose that's fair," Noriko answered. She snuggled further into the soft beige blanket she had wrapped around her. "I was just wondering, um, could you explain to me why it is that you suspect Light?"

A little surprised by the question, for it hadn't been what he was expecting, Ryuzaki dropped his hand from his lips and looked at her fully. Her eyes were downcast and she was studying the grains on the wooden table in the darkened living room while unconsciously chewing at her bottom lip. "Why?" he asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him. She was so dead set on proving Light wasn't Kira, but here she was asking for the reasons he was suspected. He wanted to understand her question, what would make her want to know, did she doubt him in some way, or did she think knowing would help her prove his innocence?

"Because...I want to know why he's suspected by one of the greatest detectives in the world of being a killer. I want to understand how you can say that the man I love is a monster, I need to know..." she trailed off for a moment before turning her bright green eyes up to meet Ryuzaki's dark, blank gaze. "I need to know if he is Kira."

The surprise must have been evident in the slight widening of his dark eyes because Noriko looked away as if ashamed of herself, her green eyes focusing instead on her feet that were covered by the blanket.

"You know what, never mind," she said quietly, beginning to stand from her spot.

"Kira was playing with us," Ryuzaki began.

Noriko looked over at him, a little unsure of what to do so she sank back down on the couch.

"It was obvious almost from the beginning that Kira had access to police information, it was just never flaunted. Until I stepped into the picture. I created a problem for Kira, I was easily able to see a pattern in the times of the killings and the way the information was being made public. The times clearly showed this person was a student, of course this information wasn't immediately available to the public, but only to those on the task force or with access to the information of the task force members."

"Is that when you had the F.B.I come to Japan," Noriko asked, interrupting the detective.

"Yes," he replied as he gazed at her with his dark eyes, his annoyance at having been interrupted clear in his tone.

Noriko couldn't help but to want to shrink away from that gaze at the moment, it had a much different effect when you were in a dark room than it did in a coffee shop. When it was clear she wouldn't be asking yet another question, Ryuzaki continued.

"That is when I asked for help from the F.B.I, which I see may have been a bad idea," the last part was added as an afterthought. "Anyhow, they were able to quickly narrow down the list of suspects. It was quite clear that asking the F.B.I may have been a waste. Until they died."

Noriko shivered a little, it was like he wasn't talking to her, but more like he was talking to himself, as if he was recapping the events of the past several months. Having seen her shiver, he leaned forward slightly.

"Watari, could you bring us some tea please," Ryuzaki asked.

"Yes, of course, just a moment," Watari's response came just a moment later.

That was when Noriko's empty stomach decided to make itself known and grumbled loudly.

"Some cake and something for Ms. Mori to eat as well," Ryuzaki added taking a look over at Noriko, who was pouting slightly with a red face.

There was an answering chuckle and then nothing.

"Can't you just call me Noriko, the Ms Mori stuff is annoying," she said. "You didn't call me that before."

"Yes, of course," he answered dismissively.

Noriko frowned at him but he wasn't paying attention to her. "So how exactly did the deaths of the F.B.I agents lead you to suspecting Light, that is when you started suspecting him isn't it?"

"Hmm, yes..."

That was where everything got intriguing and was almost too much for Noriko to handle. She got lost in the details of the deaths of the agents and then there was the e-mail that they had all received with the name and picture of each agent in Japan. An envelope that Raye Penber had been carrying while boarding a subway train, but didn't have when he exited and collapsed, though he had tried to reach for something still in the train, or someone.

Noriko listened intently and looked over the several things that he showed her on the laptop. She drank the tea that Watari had brought them and ate the food he had brought her, not even paying attention to what it was or how it tasted. It didn't matter to her anyways, she wanted to know everything she could about the Kira investigation. Near the end of Ryuzaki's reasoning though she wasn't so sure she should have asked.

She was sitting cross legged on the couch now, the blanket forgotten underneath her while she sipped at the hot tea in her hands and stared at the images on the laptop. It was a picture of Naomi Misora, the woman she had seen Light with the day of her disappearance. The more she thought over things and the more dates that were thrown out the more unsure she was.

"You're thinking about something," Ryuzaki observed, watching her as she looked up at him and blinked as if she had forgotten for a moment where she was.

"Yes," she answered, a small frown crossing her features and she looked away again.

"Would you mind telling me," he asked.

She sighed and let her eyes flicker up to him once again. "It's just that..well, the dates."

A thin black eyebrow raised in her direction, but Ryuzaki never said anything.

"I couldn't be sure, I don't exactly keep a diary or anything but..." she trailed off again, a pained look passing through her eyes. "It seems like some of the dates were around the times when Light was either edgier around me, or he would give me excuses for why I couldn't come over. He wanted to study or I should rest because of my leg after my encounter with Katsuo. It's a little unnerving and then there's..."

"Yes," Ryuzaki asked, pressing for just what made her look like she was going to hyperventilate.

"Her," Noriko said quietly, her eyes flicking to the laptop and the picture of the pretty dark haired woman who hadn't been seen in months.

"Naomi Misora," Ryuzaki asked. "What about her?" He was trying to sound uninterested, like whatever she had to say didn't matter, but he knew he had failed for he had seen her flinch at the tone in his voice.

"I saw her," she whispered, tearing her eyes away from the picture on the laptop

"When?"

Noriko flinched again. "The day she disappeared, she was...she was with Light."

Ryuzaki didn't say anything, but his thumb was raised and he started biting on the digit distractedly as he stared at the picture on the screen. Once he was sure he could speak without sounding overly hopeful, or even excited, he took a breath and continued. "Is that why you were so upset the day you ran into Watari, the day her disappearance was in the papers?"

Noriko nodded. "Yes, because I realized the day she disappeared that she had been with Light and no one had seen her after that. She was also acting..strange."

"Strange?"

"Yeah, they had been talking. I wasn't following them or anything, really.. I was at the park near the police station, it was the first snow of the season and I always walk around in the first snow," she sounded far away as she spoke. It was like she was placing herself back in that day. "I was sitting on a bench, my eyes were closed and I was just remembering a picnic that Light, my dad and I had there when we were just kids. I heard talking, a man and a woman, I thought I recognized one of the voices, the man's. I realized as they got closer, on the opposite side of the fence, that it was Light. I remember thinking the worst at that point, being paranoid that he was cheating on me," she let out a bitter laugh. "But I caught bits and pieces of the conversation and it was quite obvious that wasn't what was going on. I couldn't hear much at first until I ducked back in to the park and walked along the wall. The woman, uh, Ms Misora was thanking Light for his help, after that it sounded like she was leaving, but Light called after her. He said something I didn't catch and I heard her say something about a task force. That's where I got confused, I didn't know what he was talking about, he wasn't in any task force, that's when..." Noriko trailed off suddenly remembering the strange laughter she had heard, she hesitated not sure she should include the part that made her sound crazy, but it was too late, Ryuzaki had noticed her hesitation and the dawning realization in her eyes.

"Is there something else," he asked casually, well as casually as a detective thinking he's found what he's been looking for can.

"Well...Promise you won't think I'm crazy?" Noriko asked before sighing when he raised a brow at her and she was sure a corner of his lips twitched slightly.

"Promise," he said as he raised his tea to his lips to hide the small smirk that was pulling at his lips, it may have been a serious conversation but the look on her face was priceless.

"Good enough," she grumbled. "Ok, well, I heard laughter."

"Laughter?" Ryuzaki asked.

"I said don't think I'm crazy, so stop looking at me like that you, you, freak."

"Original," she heard him mutter in response.

"It was weird though," she said, her face going thoughtful again as she tilted her head back to look up at the ceiling. "There was no one around, at first I could have sworn it was right behind me. It was a scary sort of laugh, mocking, empty. Anyways, it was right behind me, I was scared and turned around but no one was there, no one was even in the park. I heard it again, this time near Light, I actually thought it was Light, but again there was no one around him aside from Naomi Misora, who when I looked over at her, was digging for something in her purse that she handed to Light. Light wrote something down and then looked at his watch, she asked him a question but when he responded her facial expression changed and she turned around and walked off," she paused for a moment and a shiver went down her spine when she remembered the look in Light's eyes and the weird smile on his face. It was something she had seen on several occasions over the past few months and it was disorienting, it was the same smile he wore in the dreams where it was implied that he was Kira.

"And that was the last time you saw her?"

"Yes. I read about it in the paper a few days later. That she had been engaged to one of the F.B.I agents who had been killed and that she had disappeared on the day I saw her with Light, that's when I ran into Watari. I was confused, I started thinking things that made no sense, but did all at the same time. Like it was obvious that something was wrong, but at the same time I just couldn't stomach the ideas that were running through my head."

"What ideas," Ryuzaki asked, his dark eyes scrutinizing her since she seemed like she wanted to run away.

"I...I started to think that Light was Kira, that it made sense because all those F.B.I agents died not long after we ran into the agent on the bus, and he had shown his I.D to Light. Then that woman disappeared after talking to him and the look on her face that day it... it was like she was a totally different person in the span of seconds," she spoke quickly as if she wasn't sure that it was ok to say what she was saying, or that she should be ashamed of herself for thinking the way she had. "Not to mention he had been acting so strange recently, I was scared and it all seemed to make sense. So I called him, had him meet me for coffee and brought it up then. It was one of the hardest things ever, telling him I thought he was Kira, actually I didn't even have to spit that part out, he caught on to what I was implying. He was ok with it though, laughed about it, saying he could understand but that I was over thinking things, he had just been concentrating on studying, like I should have been doing and that there was something else too but he wouldn't tell me. So we walked to his house-"

"That was the day he proposed," Ryuzaki cut in.

Noriko glared at having been interrupted, she rather liked telling that part of the story. "Yes, that was the day he proposed."

"I see," Ryuzaki mused. "But you've never seen Light do anything out of the ordinary?"

Noriko shook her head. "No, aside from acting a little strange, he was the same as always."

"Regardless, of what you thought then, what do you think now? Is Light-kun Kira?"

"No," she replied automatically.

"I see."

"I think I'm going to bed," Noriko said and started to unfold herself from the couch.

"I'm not done, I have a question for you, remember?"

Making a slight grunting noise, Noriko settled back into the couch. "What," she asked grumpily.

"Shinigami."

"What about them," Noriko replied carefully, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Light reacted a bit oddly, don't you think, he nearly broke your skin." He motioned towards Noriko's hand that she reflexively brought to her chest, the nail marks where still visible in her skin. "He seemed tense, you on the other hand seemed to realize something then, something that frightened you. What?"

Shifting uncomfortably and looking away from Ryuzaki, Noriko didn't know what to do, she couldn't just tell him she believed in Shinigami and that a good source, her dead father, had told her they exist.

"You'll think I'm crazy," she mumbled quietly.

"Please, tell me. I think I'd like to understand your reaction."

"What if I told you Shinigami exist."

"Do you have proof?"

"Of course not, they're Death Gods, they don't exactly make themselves known. Besides, I've never seen one except for in dreams. You were in some too, before I even met you."

"How do you know they exist," Ryuzaki asked.

"Umm, well that's the interesting part...My dad told me," she admitted, shifting her eyes away from him.

"Suppose they do exist, what was it that frightened you earlier?"

"Light's reaction, it surprised me. I knew about the existence of Shinigami and trust me I'm very open minded about things like that, kind of have to be," she said, mostly to herself before shaking her head. "His reaction... it was like he was angry and I didn't understand why, unless-"

"He believes in the existence of such creatures as well," Ryuzaki cut in.

"Are you going to let me talk, you did ask me the question after all," Noriko snapped.

"Yes, yes of course."

"It was also the mention of the eyes, do you remember that," Noriko asked and continued when she saw the minute nod Ryuzaki gave her. "Ok, well, my dad told me that Shinigami have the ability to see the names and life spans of humans. That was what I didn't understand, this isn't exactly common knowledge. Humans aren't supposed to know these things, but Light's response to the mention of eyes and Shinigami scared me. He shouldn't know anything about those things, I shouldn't know about those things, but being haunted by your dead dad is also a little weird too," Noriko's eyes widened when she realized what she had said. "Oh crap," she mumbled, "I don't suppose you can ignore that last part?"

"Your father haunts you," Ryuzaki repeated slowly.

"Well...yeah."

"Interesting."

"That's it?" Noriko asked, a bit surprised he didn't seem too interested like he had said.

He shrugged. "If I'm supposed to believe in things such as Shinigami, ghosts don't seem like much of a stretch."

"True."

"Light's reaction to the Kira message, does that make your belief in his innocence change?"

Noriko frowned. "I don't know. It just made the things I used to think come swarming back. It makes it very difficult to not see why you suspect Light. Makes it seem like there are no other options, but I'm sure you understand, why I need to believe there are."

"I do. I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

"Don't be, I would have wormed my way in some how. I wanted to know what was going on, I didn't want to be left out, and most of all, I want to be among the first to know when Kira is captured," Noriko replied.

"And if it's Light," Ryuzaki asked.

Noriko's smile faded and she seemed to deflate slightly. "I don't want to think about that. I can't think about that... I'm not feeling very well, I need to take my meds and get to bed."

"Good night, Noriko."

"Night Ryuzaki," she said as she stood and made her way back to her room.

* * *

The next few weeks Noriko spent being fairly quiet and sitting a little apart from the task force as they had their meetings and discussed the Kira case. She found herself sitting either cross legged on the floor against the wall or perched in a chair with her knees drawn into her chest, just like Ryuzaki. She didn't talk much unless someone asked her a question or she had something that might be beneficial to say, which wasn't often.

Light noticed her behavior as did Ryuzaki, but Ryuzaki never commented on it. He knew she was beginning to suspect Light again, he wasn't entirely sure of her reasons aside from his reaction to the mention of eyes and Shinigami on the Kira message. He suspected that the information he had given her regarding the deaths of the F.B.I agents hadn't helped her believe in Light's innocence either, but there was something more than that, he just didn't know what.

Light had on several occasions asked Noriko why she was so withdrawn, she would always reply that she didn't want to interfere with the investigation, but that she wanted to be on top of the latest developments and to help however she could. He didn't believe her. He would catch her watching him as if she was waiting for something, what, he didn't know.

She was also pulling away from him more. He knew it had started the night the Kira message had been played, he remembered his over reaction and the fact that he had squeezed her hand a little harder than was necessary. A part of him wasn't sure what to make of that, she had no way of knowing that he had reacted that way because he knew what the second Kira was talking about, unless she knew it too, which was impossible in his mind. He figured it would seem like he was just surprised by the new information. He was beginning to wonder though, her pulling away made no sense unless she was beginning to believe he was Kira again.

"I'll go," Noriko spoke up from the back of the room. She was leaning against the wall a few feet from the couch and two chairs in the spacious and modern living area of the hotel they had moved to just a few days before.

The task force was discussing the most recent tape from the second Kira. A diary had been included with the tape, it was dated last year but it was clearly meant to be a message to Kira for this year. There were three places mentioned and all three were gong to be investigated. Aoyama and Shibuya were two, they were popular hang outs for people in their age range. Then there was the Tokyo dome, on the day that a game was scheduled to be played. Noriko was volunteering to go to Aoyama, there were going to be extra cameras set up as well as a number of plain clothed police officers.

"Yeah, I'll go too. I'll fit right in in Aoyama," Matsuda chirped happily. He turned to grin at Noriko, she smiled back, but the smile was empty, something no one seemed to catch but Light.

"I'll go with Matsuda, but Noriko is staying here," Light said.

"Light.." Mr Yagami spoke up.

"Don't worry about it, dad, I go to Aoyama and Shibuya sometimes. I'll fit right in, besides the only person the second Kira is interested in is Kira."

"So why can't I go," Noriko asked.

"It's too dangerous," Light replied.

"Didn't you just say-"

"Noriko, he's right," Mr Yagami cut in. "Even though the second Kira is only looking for Kira, they can still kill with only a face. It's too risky."

"Not exactly," Noriko mumbled, knowing full well that the only reason a face was needed was so that the name of the person could be seen. Her name couldn't be seen if what her dad had told her about her necklace was true. "I'm not Kira, so I have nothing to worry about. Unless of course Kira is either Matsuda or Light." Her eyes flicked up to Light briefly.

"Yeah, and neither one of us is Kira, so it should be fine," Matsuda replied.

"No. I don't want to have Noriko anywhere near where this second Kira could be," Light argued.

"Fine," Noriko said, pushing herself up from the ground and stalking off down the hall. The sound of a door slamming was heard a moment after she disappeared from view.

"It seems Light-kun may have over reacted," Ryuzaki drawled, staring after Noriko.

"Over reacted? I'm trying to protect her, you know like a good fiance should, but instead she's pushing me away because you're making her think I'm Kira," Light replied, the angry edge in his voice hard to ignore.

"I'm not making her think anything she didn't already believe," Ryuzaki said quietly when Light walked passed him.

Light hesitated and thought about decking the detective, but thought better of it seeing as how the room was full of police officers and he doubted it would help him look less like Kira. Instead, he walked to the door that he knew Noriko had slammed and walked in without knocking.

Noriko didn't bother to look up, she was laying across the large bed, her hands folded behind her head as she gazed up at the ceiling.

"What was that about, Noriko," Light asked, he closed her door and walked to her bed.

"What," she asked refusing to look at him when he sat on the edge of her bed and looked down at her.

"I'm only trying to protect you, Noriko," Light sighed.

"From what, Light, what harm can going to a shopping district do? Especially, if I'm with you and Matsuda and surrounded by a bunch of cops. Unless there's something you're not telling me."

"What is that supposed to mean," Light asked angrily.

"It means I think you're keeping something from me and I want to know what," she answered.

"I'm not keeping anything from you, Noriko. You should stop listening to whatever Ryuzaki's telling you, I'm not Kira."

"I never said you were," Noriko replied.

"No, but you implied that the only way you would be in danger is if Matsuda or I were Kira, meaning me. Matsuda was never a suspect, I was, and still am. Do you really believe Ryuzaki, Noriko?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know," Light repeated.

Noriko bit at her lip and turned her head away, even though she hadn't been looking at Light to begin with, she could see the expression on his face, anger and hurt.

"This is ridiculous, Light. I don't know what to think anymore. I can see why Ryuzaki would suspect you and even you have to agree that some of the information is hard to ignore. It's hard for me, Light, to think you might be the Kira that we're looking for."

"I'm not Kira," Light replied. "And you aren't looking for anyone. You're not a member of the task force Noriko, you shouldn't even be here."

"I may not be a member of it Light, but I will help in anyway I can. It's not like I have anything else to do when I can't even go out," Noriko said bitterly.

"This was your choice."

"Yes, it was."

"You can change your mind you know. We can talk to my dad about getting an apartment."

"No," Noriko replied quicker than she had meant to.

"Whatever you think, Noriko, you need to figure out on your own. I love you and wish you had more trust in me," Light said as he stood and left her room.

Noriko sighed and winced after the door to her room clicked shut.

* * *

The twenty-second came and went and Noriko and Light barely talked to each other during the week and a half that had passed. She rarely left her room, let alone talked to anyone. Her eyes grew less bright and bags began to form under them from the sleep she wasn't getting. She was irritable and would snap at anyone who tried to talk to her anytime she left her room for food or something to drink. Light would usually avoid her, he was obviously not happy with her and it was weighing down on her heavily, just like her thoughts.

Not only did having Light angry at her make it hard to eat, sleep, and function in general. Having a part of her mind contemplating the possibility of him being Kira didn't help. She withdrew more into herself than she already had. Soon she hardly realized when they changed hotels on a weekly basis and she hardly noticed the concerned stares she would get as her already thin frame, that had begun to gain back the weight she had lost while in the hospital began to shrink again. Light had tried talking to her once but had given up when he knew she wasn't listening to him, she wasn't listening to anyone, she was in her own world and nothing would get her out of it.

There were times she would sit in a corner, away from the eyes of the task force and listen to them as they talked and discussed the case. Apparently, nothing suspicious had happened in Aoyama on the twenty-second and it was now the twenty-fifth, the day Light and Matsuda would be going to Shibuya.

"Ryuzaki, we have intercepted a video that was sent to Sakura T.V. It was post marked the twenty-third," she heard the familiar voice of Watari say over the laptop that she knew was assembled behind Ryuzaki.

The surprised remarks didn't reach her ears, instead she listened intently as Watari relayed the message to the team over the computer.

"I'd like to start out by thanking the police for their help. I have found Kira," the distorted voice of the second Kira rang in Noriko's ears.

'Found him?! But that would mean that it would have had to be in Aoyama on the twenty-second. That means it couldn't have been Light, he was never away from the group he was with, he never did anything suspicious. He can't be Kira,' Noriko thought, standing up from the floor in the dark hallway and walking back to her room, shutting the door quietly behind herself.

She laid in bed with the television turned on but didn't pay attention to what was on. Her mind was elsewhere.

"You can always go to him you know," her father said as he appeared and sat on the bed beside her.

"He hates me, and I don't even blame him. I've been horrible. How could I ever think he was Kira, I'm his fiancé for crying out loud. I should have been there to support him through this, he's had no one to talk to, no one to confide in. How could I dad," Noriko said, tears glistening in her bright green eyes that she quickly wiped away.

"You should go and see him, talk to him. I'm sure he'll understand, Noriko," her father said.

"I don't deserve it."

"Go to him, Noriko."

"I can't get out of here without being seen," Noriko replied.

"Let me take care of that," he replied with a smile.

"How?"

"Don't worry about that, get dressed, I'll be waiting for you outside," he told her before he faded away and disappeared.

Noriko sat frozen for a moment, not sure if she should really leave the hotel, but decided that since she was only going to see Light it couldn't hurt. She might hear about it later, but that was later. Jumping up from the bed, Noriko grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a shirt without bothering to look at what they were and ran into the bathroom to change and brush out her hair before pulling it into a ponytail. Once dressed in her jeans and what turned out to be one of her favorite shirts, a black long sleeved shirt that laced up the back like a corset, she grabbed her black boots and shoved her feet into them before quietly opening the door and poking her head around the corner. She couldn't see anything since there was a small walkway that divided the hall where there were two bedrooms from the living area and the main doorway.

Walking as quietly as she could, she looked around the wall to see that Ryuzaki and Mr Yagami were busy looking over some documents. She eyed the door that was only a few more feet from where she stood. If either one turned around while she tried to open it she was done for. That was when the television in the room suddenly turned on and the volume went up so loud, Noriko cringed. While Ryuzaki and Mr Yagami had their backs to her and their attention on the television, Noriko slipped out the door, breathing a sigh of relief as she shut it behind her.

Not wanting to take her chances of being caught, she bolted down the hall and followed the signs that pointed her to the elevators. She walked hurriedly through the lobby and practically started running once she was out on the street, afraid that Mr Yagami or Watari would pull up next to her at any second.

"That was fun," her father giggled, suddenly appearing right in front of her.

She stopped abruptly with a little squeak of surprise before sighing and continuing on. Light's house was somewhat close, it would take her about thirty minutes to get there on foot, which was her only option since she hadn't grabbed her purse and had no money anyways.

"So what did you do to distract Watari," Noriko asked curiously.

"Well the t.v was more of a distraction then I had thought it would be and he ended up coming over to help them with that after he finally got the cats to stop singing."

"Cats?"

"On his computer."

"Uh, right," Noriko said, not at all understanding what he meant and figuring she probably didn't want to.

"The internet can be quite useful," he chirped.

"Oh, yeah, it can," Noriko answered. 'He must have found some web page with singing cats,' she thought.

"So where are we going?"

"To Light's remember?"

"Oh, right. So let's go then," he said cheerily.

"You're coming too," she asked.

"Well of course, I can't let my precious daughter walk around alone at night."

"Uh huh. But you never show yourself around him, why now?"

"No reason really, now stop dawdling lets go."

"Dawdling? Who says dawdling," Noriko mumbled as she followed after the shape of her father who was happily walking down the street.

* * *

"This was a bad idea," Noriko said once they reached the gate to the Yagami household and turned away.

"What are you talking about, it was a great idea, don't be a chicken," her father replied.

"I'm not a chicken," she snapped, pouting slightly.

"Then get in there."

"But what if he's mad at me," she whined.

"He won't be mad at you, Noriko."

"You sound awfully sure of that."

"Of course."

"Why?"

"Because I know everything."

"Right."

"I do. It's a gift all fathers have."

"Uh huh, I'm going in just so you'll shut up."

"That's mean, Nori," her father pouted behind her.

Stepping up to the door, Noriko pushed the doorbell button and waited. Sayu opened the door and looked a little surprised to Noriko standing there. "Oh, hey Noriko, you haven't been over in awhile."

"Yeah, I had to move in with my grandmother and she lives kind of far, not to mention the whole healing thing is taking some time," she replied.

"Um, are you here to see Light?"

"Yeah, is he home?"

"He's in his room," she replied a little hesitantly.

"Is it ok if I go see him," Noriko asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah I guess."

"Alright, I won't be long, ok?"

"Ok, I'll tell mom you're here too."

"Ok, thanks Sayu," Noriko said as she walked in and headed up the stairs to Light's room.

As she walked up the stairs a strange feeling began to wash over her and she began to absently twist the ring on the third finger of her left hand. She felt like she had run the whole way there, her legs felt wobbly and she was breathing too heavy.

She stood before Light's door and cocked her head to the side when she heard voices on the other side of the door. Light's she recognized, but there was another voice, a female voice she didn't know. Her father was standing beside her looking straight at the door, it was almost like he was looking at something beyond it.

"It'll be alright, Noriko, I will protect you," her father assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

She almost jumped when she realized she could feel his hand. Usually if she tried to touch him, her hand would pass through him. But now she could feel the weight, the warmth of his hand as he lightly squeezed her shoulder.

He reached out and turned the knob of the door. The door swung open slowly and Noriko continued to spin and fiddle with the ring on her finger as four different shapes appeared before her.

"Oh my god," she breathed. She stared not at the two people kneeling on the floor, but the two beings that stood on opposite sides of the room.

"Noriko," Light asked uncertainly, his head snapping up. He looked at her in surprise, his door had been locked, he had locked a few minutes ago and he had no idea how she had opened it without him noticing.

"Ryuk," Noriko whispered, her green eyes landing on the familiar looking Shinigami that stood behind Light.

Ryuk's red lips twisted into a smile and he chuckled in delighy. "Well Light, it looks like things just got really interesting."

Light looked from Noriko to Ryuk and back to Noriko. "You can see him?" he asked.

Noriko shook her head. "You were in my dreams, you're not real. You can't be real," she spluttered as she took a step back.

"Noriko..." Light stood from where he had been crouched next to a scantily clad blond girl.

"Don't come near me, Light... Just don't. And her, she has one too. A Shinigami. What is she to you Light, why were you so close to her, why is there..." She shook her head again as her hands dropped to her sides. There was thunk as the ring she had been twisting on her finger slowly fell to the floor as she quickly turned and fled the Yagami house.

"Noriko," she heard Light call after her, but she didn't stop. She didn't look back and she was pretty sure she had yet to breathe.

* * *

Please review!


	24. Chapter 24 The Protectors

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note. I did buy and read the whole Twilight series over the weekend though. This will probably piss people off but I didn't think it was all that impressive. Please don't kill me.

This chapter did not turn out as expected. So to those of you I said stuff about L making an appearance in this one, I lied. Not intentionally though. I had to rethink things. You'll see why. Eventually.

* * *

**Chapter 24**

**The Protectors**

"Noriko!"

She heard Light calling her name, heard the surprised gasps of Mrs Yagami and Sayu as she stumbled down the stairs and out the door, back into the quiet night. But none of it mattered, all she could see was Light leaning over the blond like he was going to kiss her, or maybe already had. Then there was the Shinigami, the two strange, bony creatures that looked so different from one another. Somehow the images of these in her head didn't disturb her nearly as much as she would have expected. They had surely surprised her, and most of her attention had been focused on them, but she still saw Light, still saw the girl and their too close position. She already knew Shinigami existed after all, she had seen the one in her dreams, the one with the leering smile and black clothes, Ryuk. The other's name she didn't know, it looked more feminine, its body was made up of links of bone with sharp points to some of them and there was a bandage over one of her eyes.

The hammering of her heart was dulled as if someone had stuffed cotton in her ears while she ran, her vision became blurry and she hastily rubbed her eyes with her black clothed wrist only to be surprised by the wetness she found. Her legs were growing wobbly the farther she ran. Unsure of where she was even going, she kept running, just knowing she needed to be as far away from the scene as possible, in hopes that would help it fade from her mind.

Noriko turned down random streets, not bothering to look at where she was going, she just let her feet guide her. Over time, Light's shouts faded and so did his footsteps. When Noriko's legs finally gave out she landed on her knees in a patch of soft grass, her body slumped forward, her arms falling limply into her lap. Her ponytail had come loose during her sprint and her hair now hung around her face, hiding her tears as they silently streamed down her pale face.

"It can't be," she muttered to herself over and over while she rocked herself back and forth.

She stilled after a few minutes and looked around herself to get her bearings, she was in a quiet park that was dimly lit by the lamps that were spaced along its several pathways. She had deviated from one of the paths apparently and had fallen in a patch of grass several yards from the nearest walkway. Blinking a few more times, she realized she was in the same park she had been when she had seen Light with Naomi Misora, the same park they used to go to as children.

Standing slowly and shakily, Noriko returned to the path and ghosted along the walkway until she came to the playground. The light wind was moving the few swings, little creaks could be heard as the chains swung back and forth, back and forth.

Hypnotized by the movement, Noriko walked forward and sat herself on one of the swings, she gripped the chain on either side of her body and began to lightly push herself with her feet. Her head rested against her right hand and she stared into the trees that surrounded the little playground. The place was utterly deserted. If she had had enough sense, she would have been frightened to be in such a quiet, secluded place on her own at nearly eleven o'clock at night, but fear would have meant that she would feel something. Right now, all she felt was numb, blank. Pictures of Light hovering over the blond kept flashing in and out of her mind which made the tears that had gathered in her eyes spill over and roll silently down her face.

The two Shinigami flashed in and out of her mind as well and she wondered just what to make of them. She knew what they were, what they were capable of doing. The only question was, why they were there? Of course her mind already knew the answer to this question, had as soon as the door opened to Light's room.

It just hadn't caught up to the rest of her.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." She saw her father out of the corner of her eye as he took a seat on the swing next to her. He wasn't looking at her, he was looking up into the night sky, his green eyes locked on the orb that hung there.

"You knew," she whispered hoarsely, she didn't move to face him, afraid that if she did she would crumple to the ground and not be able to get back up.

She saw the frown that turned down the corners of his mouth and heard the sigh that he exhaled as he looked away from the moon and down at the ground.

"I did," he answered.

"I don't understand, I don't...Is he...Why?"

"It was time you saw for yourself. I'm sorry, Noriko," her father replied sadly.

"He's Kira, isn't he?" she asked, she already knew the answer, but for some reason she needed someone else to tell her, to confirm what she saw or deny it entirely so that she would know she was crazy and that none of this was real. That it was just some sick joke or maybe she was even asleep.

"Yes."

The first strangled sob broke through her lips at his single word, but she tried to choke down the rest that threatened to make her lose control of everything that she was barely managing to hold together. It was like her entire world had shattered like a glass that was dropped from a sky scraper. You knew it was coming, you just didn't know when.

"And the girl?" Noriko asked.

"I'm afraid I can't really tell you much, aside from she just met Light this evening," her father answered hesitantly.

By the tone of his voice Noriko knew he knew more, but she also knew he wasn't going to tell her more. Meaning she would have to find out on her own.

"Oh," was all she could manage to say.

She wasn't sure if her father said anything else for her mind was no longer in the park as she pushed herself rhythmically with her foot. All she could see, all she could hear was the door slowly opening and the look on Light's face when he saw her standing in his doorway, her eyes growing large as she stared the two creatures in the room before her eyes settled upon him once again. Once her eyes found his again, she could see the surprise in eyes as she turned from the doorway and fled, dropping her ring in the process. She could still hear the sound of it hitting the floor and then bouncing twice before it stopped and lay motionless.

Noriko's shoulders began to shake and her head bowed. Quiet sobs broke from her throat as she struggled to come to terms with all that had happened and tried to figure out what to do now. No one would believe her if she told them what she saw, she thought Ryuzaki might, but he was so set on proving Light was Kira to begin with she wasn't sure if he would really believe her, or want to believe her so much, that it didn't matter that what she saw couldn't be seen by anyone else. There was no proof, physical anyway, to prove Light was Kira, but did she really want to prove Light was Kira, could she deal with the consequences? The thoughts kept racing through her mind and she wasn't sure she could be held responsible for turning in the man she loved, he may have betrayed her in more than one sense of the word, but she wasn't sure she could condemn him to death the way he had condemned so many others.

For hours she sat in the swing, tears leaking from her bright green eyes, dulling them and making her face red. Her sobs quieted and stopped after the first hour when she could no longer find the strength to keep crying. Her eyes seemed to never run out of the salty water that was continuously streaming down her cheeks, dripping onto her shirt, dampening the black fabric. She began to shiver from the cold and the breeze that had picked up, blowing the scents of what she thought was a mix of lilies and something more earthy, like pine trees.

She contemplated getting up and making her way back to the hotel, but she wasn't ready to face anyone. She knew Mr Yagami was probably there, he had taken to spending more and more nights in the hotels they rented. Not that she could blame him, he was so dedicated to solving the case he didn't want to bring any risks home and he hardly slept as it was. On top of that she was sure that by now Mrs Yagami had called him and the police were likely looking for her. She wondered just what Light had said happened. A lie, of course, whatever it was, apparently he was quite good at that. He had been Kira all along and he had convinced her time and time again of his innocence, or maybe she was just too naive to see it.

"Hey, dad?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"I don't understand something," she began. "I know what Shinigami can do, you've told me that much, but how are they connected to Light and that girl?"

"The Shinigami carry around objects known as Death Notes. These notebooks allow the Shinigami user to kill humans and take their remaining life span for themselves by simply writing their names in their notebooks. There are rules of course, but even the Shinigami don't know them all, except for the Shinigami King.

One notebook is given to each Shinigami, but sometimes they acquire another. If they lose the notebook in the human world, it becomes a part of the world until it is returned to the Shinigami who lost it, or the person who possesses it dies or gives up ownership. Light has a Death Note, he's been using that notebook to-"

"To try and create a better world, right," Noriko finished for her father. "Ok, so the notebook, you write a person's name and they die? They die of heart attacks, right? Can they die in other ways?"

"Yes to all. The notebooks have limitations of course, but you can write out a specific time and cause of death."

"Light's completely aware of what he's doing, isn't he?"

"I'm afraid so. It was his choice to pick up the notebook and then use it. The notebooks do have a strange pull to them that make whoever finds it want to try it just once. But that just once is enough to condemn yourself to an eternity of nothingness, for those who use a Death Note can go to neither heaven nor hell," her father answered.

Noriko frowned and exhaled a short breath as she thought over what she had been told. "How do you know all this dad? And why did I see them, I've never seen them before?"

He exhaled a gust of air as if he were buying time to think. "Well, I'm not your average ghost."

"Then what are you exactly? A Shinigami?"

"Well..."

"Dad," Noriko pressed.

"Not exactly. More like I'm here to make sure you're alright."

"What, are you my guardian angel?"

"Actually yes, that's exactly what I am."

"You're an angel?" She asked incredulously.

"Not really," he replied.

"Daaaddd," Noriko groaned.

"We're protectors, Noriko," he said seriously.

"We?"

"There was a war a long time ago. Between the Shinigami and the Gods. The Shinigami felt that they deserved more than the dying realm they inhabited and they wanted more, they wanted this world. They were greedy and so they did something terrible. They started killing humans, thousands of innocent people died, but there was one family that tried to protect others. It was a family that believed in the old magic, and they used what they knew of that magic to protect as many as they could.

Unfortunately, though they were protecting others they found it difficult to protect themselves, so they created several items that were meant to keep their names hidden from the eyes of the Shinigami. These amulets worked, but they were not perfect. Other people still knew their names and that was enough to get most of the family killed by the Shinigami.

The Gods felt pity for the family, but of course death is a permanent thing, they couldn't bring them back to life. So instead the family was given a job in the afterlife, to protect the souls of the innocent, so not only were the living relatives to protect the living world, the dead were to protect the souls of the dead. You could say that it is the family's job to keep a balance in the world of the living and the world of the dead, they aren't alone in this, everyone plays their part, the Shinigami included."

Noriko sat silent for a few moments thinking over the information she had been given.

"Do you understand Noriko," her father asked.

"That family. It was our family, the Mori's, wasn't it?"

"It was."

"So... The necklace, you didn't want me to take it off because otherwise I would be visible to the Shinigami, right?"

"Right, I wanted you to be safe. It isn't really necessary for you now though," he replied.

"Why?"

"Well, the amulet is meant to protect the living relatives, relatives who have not yet died."

"But I'm not dead dad," Noriko pointed out, perplexed by his meaning.

"No, you're not dead, but..."

"I died," she realized suddenly.

"Yes."

"I don't get it," Noriko said, blinking in confusion.

"Well, when you're dead, you don't need magical protection. When you died, you were given the ability to protect the souls of the dead, it's sort of an automatic thing for us Mori's. You were brought back to life though, so it changed things a bit. You should have been able to see Shinigami once you woke up, but I didn't like that idea, so I sort of blocked that part, but once I touched you, I gave you back that ability. Now you're able to protect the living and dead. Although I'd stick with the living, you're not exactly able to see the souls of the dead after all, but you can help them still."

"How?"

"Help L stop Kira, both of them. The notebooks they have should never have been allowed in this world. They're disturbing the balance. Too many souls are vying for entrance into the afterlife at once and it's getting chaotic. Many souls are getting lost, venturing to places they were never meant to go. It's hard to find all of these, to rescue them, but I do what I can," he said with a smile.

"I don't know what I can do dad, there's no proof of what Light's doing, aside from the notebook, but he's smart. It would be hidden somewhere no one could find it, and if it came down to it he'd find a way to get rid of it without leaving any evidence. I'm no match for Light, L is, but I don't see how I can help him, I don't think I can be around him. Not when Light will always be there trying to help find Kira when he's Kira. I don't think I could handle that. I would wind up looking like a crazy person, no one would believe what I saw, and if it helped Light at all he would have me committed or removed from the task force and would force me to live with him. He would make excuses for the girl in his room, who searched him out, not the other way around. Does it make sense that I'm glad he didn't actually cheat on me? Probably not. He's Kira and honestly that bothers me more than the thought of him cheating on me. How can you cheat on someone you spend so much time lying to? I don't know this Light, this isn't the Light I fell in love with, that I grew up with..."

"I understand Noriko, you learned a lot tonight. Take some time for yourself, you don't have to go back there."

"But I won't be helping, I won't be doing anything, I'll be letting this continue. I don't think I can do that, not now that I know what's really going on," Noriko said.

"You're only human, Noriko, well mostly. No one expects you to be able to solve this in a day or even a week. These things take time. When you're dealing with something as complicated as this, time becomes your friend. Let it work for you, not against you. Do what you need to do for you, you'll figure everything out, besides I don't think L is giving up anytime soon. He's quite persistent," her father replied with a chuckle.

"I think it's all the sugar," Noriko mumbled.

"Maybe."

"So what do I do now?" She asked, exhaling gust of air and staring blankly off into the night.

"Whatever you want," her dad answered.

"Well, I don't really have anywhere to go and no money for another...three weeks, until my birthday. That sort of leaves very few options, on top of that, I'm trying to get away from one of the world's greatest detectives, is that even possible," she mused with a snort.

"Anything's possible, Noriko."

"Yeah, I know that now," she replied with an eye roll followed by a sigh. "We must have been here awhile, the sun is rising. It's got to be close to five in the morning."

Her dad nodded in agreement as he looked up towards the brightening sky. Noriko watched the sky gradually lighten from the darkest of blues to a pale blue with a few puffy clouds floating lazily in the wide expanse. The birds began to sing and cars could be heard passing through the streets, people began to wander into the park, either on their way to work or some other appointment.

As the morning wore on, she got a better hold on her emotions and a few ideas as to what she could do. She just needed more time to sort through them all and then find a place to stay while she prepared. She couldn't face Light, not yet. He would find some way to convince everyone she was insane or that being on the task force was too much for her and Ryuzaki had brainwashed her. He was smarter than her, he was more cunning and put much more thought into what he was doing than she usually did. Her chest ached dully as she thought and she knew that her heart was broken, but she also knew that she would heal. Already was, the man she loved didn't exist anymore, he hadn't for a long time. A part of her had already known that, and in preparation it had already begun to heal itself in advance.

She received many curious stares and figured she was probably a mess and looked a little odd sitting in a swing, people watching. Standing with a small groan, she stretched the taut muscles in her back and neck before walking to the nearest restroom. She washed her face and ran her wet fingers through her hair to smooth it down before leaving and walking the streets of the city in thought. Her dad had disappeared when she had gotten up, but she figured he'd return if he felt it necessary. Once done cleaning up, she began to walk around the city in hopes of figuring out what she could do about a place to stay.

"Ahh," she winced in pain when her elbow hit someone who was walking passed her and caused it to jab her ribs painfully. She had to stop walking and put a hand against a nearby wall to steady herself and catch her breath. It had been nearly two months since she had been shot and nearly killed and her body still had yet to fully recover, she knew it would take time like the doctor had said, but she just wished the pain would go away. The skin had closed almost completely but the internal organs that had been damaged were still healing and it wasn't a painless process unfortunately, the pain was definitely less than it had been and she was quite tolerant of it but it was becoming minorly annoying.

"Noriko?"

Her head snapped up at the sound of her name and she looked around not sure if she should panic and run, or stay put and see who was calling for her.

"Noriko?"

"Oh," she gasped, seeing a familiar face appeare out of the crowd. "Mr Namikawa?"

The long haired man smiled at her, but she could see the look of uncertainty and concern in his eyes as he approached her. She pushed away from the wall and wobbled slightly as she forced herself to return his smile, it must not have been very convincing because once he saw her face he looked more concerned than he already had.

"Are you alright?" he asked tentatively, standing before her scrutinizing her bruised looking eyes and somewhat disheveled appearance.

She laughed nervously. "I'm fine, you?"

"Are you sure, you look..."

"Horrible? Yeah, I figured as much, I sort of had a long night," she said with a forced chuckle as she flexed her left hand nervously and tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

"I'm sorry, Noriko," he said, noticing the ringless finger of her left hand.

She chuckled dryly which only caused her to want to cry again. 'I thought I was done with the crying, he's a liar. He's not worth my tears,' she thought before she was able to regain control of her emotions.

"No, don't be. I should've known, I think I did know, that it wouldn't work out, but I...I'm sorry, Mr Namikawa, but I think I should go."

"Reiji," he corrected automatically, not taking his eyes from her and watching her worriedly. "Do you _have_ anywhere to go?"

She seemed a little stunned by the question and blinked at him. "Um...Well, I..."

"I thought as much," he responded when she stopped stuttering and just looked at him with a forced smile. "Follow me."

"What?" she squeaked when he turned away from her and began walking, she followed after him without thinking about it.

He turned back to her and looked her over before speaking again. "You may have somewhere to go, but it's obvious you don't want to go there. From the looks of it, you could use a shower, clean clothes and probably something to eat too, I'm not going to leave you wandering the streets with no money and nowhere to go."

"Who said I have no money," Noriko blurted out. Continuing to blindly follow him through the streets that were getting busier by the second, she waited for his answer.

"I assumed. You have no purse and your pockets don't seem to be hiding anything."

"You're good," Noriko mumbled, very nearly colliding with his back when he turned to enter one of the many tall glass buildings that lined the street.

It didn't take her long to figure out the building was a business, people were dressed in pricey suits and expensive clothes wherever she looked. As they walked past what looked to be a reception desk, Noriko noticed the sign behind the woman who was busily chatting away as she pressed a button on the ear piece she wore with a neatly manicured finger. It pronounced the building to be the offices of the Yotsuba Corporation. As Noriko already knew, the company did many things, from heavy industry to resort development, they were even powerful enough to buy military weapons according to what she had read in the papers and heard in the news. Basically, Yotsuba was a very powerful corporation and she was reminded that she was currently walking with the Tokyo branch's Vice President of Sales as some of the people gave her looks that made her feel less than welcome.

"Uh, I really don't think this is necessary," Noriko said as she stood beside Reiji as they waited for one of the elevators. "Really, I'm fine." She began trying to back away.

He caught her by the elbow and gave her a glance that told her she wasn't going to win the fight, sighing resignedly, Noriko let him take her arm and lead her into the elevator.

When the elevator finally stopped on the thirtieth floor, Noriko's eyes widened and she tried to stay put in the elevator but Reiji, who hadn't released her arm since he had an idea she would react this way, gently tugged her along with him once they stepped into the large, open reception area. The flooring was a black marble and the walls a shiny light wood except for the wall the elevators were set into and a few others that were painted a deep red to add more color. Twenty yards from the elevators was a circular reception desk with two women who had to be in their early twenties, dressed in black, fitted skirt suits. They regarded Noriko coolly as Reiji led her past the desk and through the brightly lit hall beyond, the walls here were mostly a dark tinted glass that allowed Noriko to see into the modern offices as the people on the interior leafed through paperwork, talked on the phone or drank coffee as they looked over things on the sleek computer screens in front of them. At the end of the hallway were two large black double doors, the walls here were still the dark tinted glass and as they walked through the doors a red haired woman in a gray pant suit greeted them from behind a desk in the center of the room.

"Good morning, Mr Namikawa," the woman chirped with more enthusiasm than Noriko thought was even possible for any human.

"Good morning, Lisa. I'm going to leave my friend, Ms Mori, here with you while I check my messages, she will need a change of clothes if you could arrange it," he replied. He released Noriko's arm and she froze on the spot as Lisa looked her over with a raised brow.

"Yes sir, I'll take care of it," Lisa answered with a smile that was less enthusiastic then it had been.

"Thank you," and with that Reiji disappeared through another set of double doors to the left.

"Uh, hi," Noriko said lamely as she waved at the woman.

"Hello, you're a mess aren't you," Lisa observed arrogantly, looking Noriko over with disdain. "How do you know Mr Namikawa?"

"I don't see how that's your business," Noriko replied, offended and not in the mood for the woman's snide remarks. "Now would you mind doing what you were told and getting me some clothes."

The woman's eyes narrowed at Noriko who held her ground and stared right back. "What size?"

After giving the snobby, and probably jealous, girl her sizes and asking for a glass of hot tea, Noriko took a seat in one of the red leather chairs and stared out the window behind Lisa's desk. She was so lost in thought she never noticed Reiji leaving his office after Lisa's many failed attempts to get her attention.

"Noriko."

"Hmm," she hummed and shook her head blinking at the handsome long haired man before her.

"Let's go into my office, it's more private," he told her, as he turned away from her and walked back to the open doors that led into his personal office.

The corner office was larger than her house had been, the polished wooden floors reflected the bright lights that hung from the high ceiling. Two walls were windows that gave the office a very open feel, in front of the far window was a large elegant modern desk with no drawers and not a single paper out of place. There was a black rug off to the left side that a low glass table sat on top of flanked by two beige chairs and a matching sofa. A few modern art pieces adorned the two walls but the rest of the space was open, and rather intimidating, in Noriko's opinion.

"Please have a seat, someone should be here shortly with a change of clothes for you," Reiji said , motioning to the two chairs that sat in front of his desk.

Noriko just nodded and sat in one of the chairs, her tea cup still in her hand.

"If you'd like to, you're welcome to lay on the couch, I have some work to attend to and you look like you could use some rest," Reiji offered.

"Probably, I don't think I'll be able to sleep though. To be honest, my back hurts too much and my neck feels like.. well like I spent the night in a park swing," Noriko replied.

"You slept in a park swing?"

"No."

"You're a horrible liar," he replied with a laugh.

"I get that a lot," Noriko said with a frown.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"I'll be fine, it's my problem after all, but thank you."

"You know, when you talk to someone you're not actually giving them your problems, you're just making your burdens lighter by sharing them," Reiji said as he sat in the black desk chair behind his desk and leaned into it.

"Maybe, but I don't think it's fair to lighten my burdens by ruining someone else's day."

"You wouldn't ruin my day, especially if it made you feel any better to talk about what happened to you last night."

"It's a long story."

Reiji leaned forward and pressed a button on the phone that sat on his desk. "Lisa, hold my calls please, but inform me as soon as Ms Mori's things have arrived."

"Of course Mr Namikawa," Lisa replied her tone no longer light and happy, but almost annoyed.

"I have plenty of time," Reiji said as he looked at her with a small smile.

"That's hardly fair," Noriko mumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest only to wince at the pain it caused to flair in her abdomen.

"Your side, it's not fully healed," Reiji observed.

"Mostly, but the internal damage is still healing and it seems I'm not a fast healer. Dying does that to you, I hear."

"Dying?"

"I was technically dead after being shot, but I got lucky and was resuscitated. I was fine until last night, it would seem that running through the city and then sleeping on a swing is bad for your health," she answered as she slouched in the chair and waved a hand in the air absently.

"Care to explain why you slept on a swing?"

"Like I said, it's a long story."

"I'm listening."

"Ok...Well. I guess you remember me being engaged and then that whole thing with me being shot after my step dad escaped from jail and tried to kill me. I was released from the hospital almost a month ago. I had no where else to go so a friend from school and his adoptive dad let me stay with them.

I was told to rest as much as possible which wasn't hard to do since I wasn't exactly feeling well and I had nothing else to do. I've rarely seen Light, my fia-, my _ex_-fiance, in the past few weeks.

Well, I had a weird dream and wanted to see him, so, smart Noriko decides to leave at eleven o'clock at night with no purse, no money and no phone. I walked to his house and his sister let me in, she was acting a little weird but I didn't think anything of it...Until I got upstairs," Noriko paused and swallowed as she looked down at her hands, she wasn't sure what to say, she was a horrible liar, and she was sure it was already obvious that she wasn't telling the whole truth, but she couldn't exactly tell anyone she lived with the detective known as L and that her ex-fiance was Kira.

"I heard voices. Light's I recognized, but there was another, a female voice I didn't know. I didn't bother to knock, I just opened the door, it wasn't even locked." She paused again to take another breath and fight off the image of Light leaning over the girl. "Light was there, with a girl. A blond dressed in barely enough to cover what needs to be covered. Anyways, he was... he was leaning over her like..."

"I think I understand," Reiji cut in, noticing the trouble she was having trying to continue her story "How did you end up in the park though?"

"I didn't exactly stick around for an explanation. All I really remember is that I had been playing with the ring, twirling it on my finger, but when I opened the door my hand dropped and the ring fell off. I heard it fall," she said quietly, her head tilted forward and she put hands over her face. "I ran, I heard Light calling my name, but I didn't stop. I wanted to be as far from him and that..girl, as possible. I wound up in the park by the police headquarters.

We used to go there as kids, when my dad was still alive. I don't know why I wound up there, but I did," Noriko's voice was beginning to falter and crack as she spoke, "I had been sitting in the grass but I ended up walking to the playground and sitting on the swing, I was so...out of it, I don't really know what happened. I cried until I couldn't anymore, and then next thing I knew it was morning. I couldn't go back to my friend's, to Ryuga's, Light and him are friends, and I can't.." her voice finally broke and she looked down to take a deep breath and reign her emotions back in.

"Mr Namikawa the clothes have arrived, would you like me to bring them in," Lisa's voice asked over the speaker in the phone.

"Just a moment Lisa," he replied.

There was a quiet squeak as he stood from his chair and approached Noriko.

"I'm sorry, we always seem to meet when I'm having a bad day," she said with a small laugh.

"Don't be. There's a shower and bathroom through the door," he said as he nodded to a door Noriko hadn't noticed to her left. "There are towels and everything you'll need in there, why don't you go clean up. I'm sure you'll feel better after."

"Thank you," Noriko said as she sniffed and stood from the chair.

Walking through the door that she had been directed towards she stepped into a small room that had a sink and what she thought was a small closet, there was another door that led to a rather large bathroom. After shutting the door. Noriko didn't hesitate to turn on the hot water in the walk in shower.

She let the hot water steam up the glass of the shower and run over her tired and achy body. Luckily there were all the necessities in the lavish shower and she cleansed herself of the memories of the night before as well as any proof that she had spent the previous night in a park.

'What do I do now,' she thought as the water ran over her. 'I can't go back there yet, I don't think I could handle it. I need to prepare myself for this, right now I'm not strong enough.'

A knock on the door startled her, but before she could respond she heard a female voice calling through the door, she couldn't entirely make out what was said, but it was something along the lines of clothes and by the door.

After what felt like a lifetime, when she had gathered her thoughts and was somewhat put back together, she turned the water off and snatched a towel. She wrapped the towel around herself and opened the door leading to the outer room, sure enough there was a blue paper bag on the ground which she quickly picked up and retreated back into the bathroom with.

She pulled out the articles, which she noted were all new and also quite expensive, that were in the bag and was pleasantly surprised by what she found, she half expected Lisa to get her something hideous. Instead, she was rewarded with a pair of black slacks and a fitted, short, puffy sleeved, shiny red button up shirt that had ruffles on either side of the buttons. Noticing there was a box in the bottom of the bag, Noriko pulled it out and pulled off the lid to see a pair of black peep toe heels, there was note on the tissue paper that read, 'I thought you could use the help.'

Noriko glared at the note and was tempted to just go barefoot, but once she was in the slacks, she threw that idea out the window, they were a bit long and if she didn't wear heels the hem would drag on the ground and cover her feet.

"Great," she mumbled as she shoved her feet in the heels.

After folding her clothes up and putting them in the bag with her boots, Noriko went into the other room in hopes of finding a brush.

It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for and she pulled the brush through her hair as she looked over herself in the mirror. Her eyes were still bloodshot, but her face looked less splotchy and red. Leaving the bag of her clothes in the room, she opened the door and walked back into the office only to pause when she realized that there were three people in the room now. She would have been able to retreat back into the bathroom but the heels on her feet had clicked on the wood of the office floor and all eyes had turned to her.

"Stupid heels," she grumbled bitterly.

"Ah, Ms Mori. You look like you're feeling much better," Reiji said as he glanced over to her with a smile.

"Yes, thank you," she said hesitantly, she had yet to move from where she stood, she didn't know what to do or where to go.

"Who's this Namikawa," one of the two men asked, he looked like he was fairly short, shorter than Namikawa at least, with spiky dark hair and beady eyes. He was smiling at Noriko in a way that made her want to disappear.

"This is Ms Mori, she's a friend. She recently had some hard times-"

"Mori? Wasn't that the name of the girl who was shot at the college a few- oh, uh, sorry," the other man said, he was young with light brown hair and glasses, he cut himself off at the look he got from Namikawa as well as the way Noriko seemed to pale at the mention of her near death experience.

"Ms Mori, these men were just leaving," Reiji said as he looked at the two expectantly.

"Sorry about that, I'm Shingo Mido," the man with the light brown hair said as he stood to leave but walked to Noriko instead.

"Noriko Mori, it's a pleasure," she said with a small bow.

"Pleasure's all mine, I'm Higuchi," the dark haired man said as he walked up beside Mido, Noriko cringed when he took her hand and kissed it.

"We should be going," Mido said, smiling at Noriko. "Let's go Higuchi."

"If you get tired of Namikawa you-"

"Higuchi," Reiji said in a clipped tone before the man could finish his sentence.

Higuchi dropped her hand and grinned at her before turning to leave, once he had turned, Noriko walked back to the bathroom to wash her hands.

"Better," Reiji asked with a chuckle as she walked back into his office.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I didn't know-"

"Of course not, I didn't either. I see Lisa did well with getting you something to wear."

"She did, I'll have to thank her," Noriko replied with a smile.

"Not necessary. How would you like to go and get something to eat, I'm sure you're hungry after the night you had."

"If I said I wasn't, would you believe me?"

"I've seen you eat. So no."

She opened her mouth to say something back, but snapped it shut again and shrugged her shoulders, "Ok then."

* * *

Please review!


	25. Chapter 25 Somewhere To Hide

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note.

* * *

**Chapter 25**

**Somewhere to Hide**

"Noriko!" Light shouted as he ran after the fleeing figure of his fiance. "Noriko, stop! Please, Noriko, it's not what you think!"

He ran as quickly as his legs would allow him to, but no matter how fast he ran, she was still faster. He didn't know when she got so fast, after all her legs were a bit shorter than his and he was in pretty good shape, she tended to be lazy.

'Dammit,' he thought as he scowled at Noriko's back that was getting even further from him as he followed her down the random streets she was turning down, 'How the hell did she see Ryuk, and even Rem apparently? She's never seen Ryuk before, but she knew his name, how is that possible? I could ask Ryuk, but he'll never tell me. I need to get to her before she gets to L, I have to convince her that it's not what she thought. If she gets to L first, I'll have to think of something else. I won't kill her, she will be mine, no matter what. I'll just have to tell her what's going on, that I'm creating a better world. For her.'

"Noriko," he shouted one last time before her back disappeared and she was no longer in view. He continued to run in the direction she had gone, but he didn't see her anywhere. "Dammit," he cursed aloud as he came to a stop and leaned over to rest putting his hands on his knees.

'What do I do? I can call L, tell him that Noriko showed up at my house and claimed to be seeing things... But what would I say about Misa? I could say that she is just a friend that showed up and Noriko got the wrong idea and ran out of the house a complete mess. Which she did. Would he buy it though...'

Light tightened his grip on his knees in an attempt to regain utmost control of his thoughts. He scowled in the direction Noriko had gone and knew he had to think of something quick. Noriko wasn't supposed to leave the hotels, so chances were it was already noticed that she was missing, if not, it would be soon and he would be the first to get a phone call. Plus, his mom and Sayu had both seen Noriko running from the house with him yelling after her, if his dad hadn't been called already, he would be soon.

"Why could she see you," Light asked through gritted teeth.

The Shinigami behind him knew that he was the one being asked the question, he cackled quietly to himself before responding. "She's interesting. I told you you should watch out for her."

"She saw both you and Rem, Ryuk. I could see there being a possibility of her touching a piece of the Death Note in my possession, it's slim but she has never had qualms about poking around in my stuff. It's impossible though, for her to have touched Misa's, they don't know each other," Light said.

"True, true. Maybe she's got some secrets too," the Shinigami replied.

"But you're not going to tell me, are you," Light asked as he glared at the grinning creature floating upside down in the air beside him.

"Sorry Light."

"Damn Shinigami," Light grumbled. "I should get back to Misa, somehow I think that stupid girl would try and kill Noriko."

"I don't think you need to worry about that," Ryuk muttered to himself as he floated after Light as they returned to the Yagami household.

"Light, where's Noriko? What happened? She looked so upset. Your dad called, I told him what happened, he wants you to call him. Is Noriko-"

"Mom, calm down. It's just a misunderstanding, I'll go call dad right now, Noriko's on her way home. She just needs to cool off, alright," Light said reassuringly as he started up the stairs to his room.

Misa was still there sitting in his desk chair, she looked confused and slightly upset. He shut his bedroom door quietly and Misa looked up at him with a look of mild jealousy and even hurt.

"I thought you said I was your girlfriend," the blond girl pouted.

Light sighed and ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to calm himself down and not snap at the girl. "I told you, it's impossible. Noriko, the girl that was here, she's my fiance Misa. You can't be my girlfriend."

"She's not your fiance, she dropped this," Misa said innocently as she handed Light the black and white diamond ring he had proposed to Noriko with.

Light took the ring from Misa quickly and had to resist the urge to glare at her for having touched the object. "I'll give it back to her later."

"Why can't I see her name?"

"What?" Light asked in surprise.

"Rem didn't think Misa should say anything, but Misa couldn't see her name."

"That's not even possible," Light replied.

"It's weird, but Rem says she's not like other humans. She has a protector, Misa doesn't really know what that means," she said with a shrug.

"You couldn't see her name," Light asked slowly.

Misa shook her head. "Nope."

"What does that mean," he asked, he wasn't really talking to Misa but to himself, trying to piece things together. There was no logical reason why Noriko's name couldn't be seen. "What about Rem and Ryuk, could you two see her name?"

"No," Rem answered.

Light looked over to Ryuk who shrugged and grunted which Light took as a no too.

"There has to be a reason," Light pressed.

"All I know is that the girl isn't an ordinary human, she's different," Rem said.

"So now that you don't have a girlfriend anymore, can Misa Misa be your girlfriend," Misa asked happily as she smiled at Light who sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I can't be seen with you, you were caught on tape in Aoyama, if we're seen together that could create a lot of problems."

"Look," Misa said as she dug a few pictures out of her bag, "This is what I looked like, I changed my makeup and everything, they'll never know it was me."

Light fought back the urge to scowl at the blonde, 'She's smarter than I thought. I have to be careful though or she can kill me.'

"I suppose I can play the part, but I can't be your boyfriend," Light answered.

"I'll do my best to make you love me, I promise," Misa replied as a knock sounded at his door.

"Light," his mom called.

"Yeah mom," he answered.

The door swung open to reveal an unsure Mrs Yagami who glanced at Misa before looking back at Light. "It's just that the trains stop running soon, and I'm worried about Noriko, you really need to call your father dear."

"I know mom, Misa was just leaving," Light said as he glanced over to Misa.

"Oh, right. Sorry for staying so late. Good night," she chirped as she stood up from the desk and darted from the room.

* * *

"Ryuzaki, I think we have a problem," Watari said calmly as he made his way out of the hallway and to where the young disheveled detective was sitting with Mr Yagami.

"What is it now, Watari," Ryuzaki asked not taking his eyes from the monitor before him that was currently displaying surveillance footage from Aoyama on the twenty second.

"It's Ms Mori."

Ryuzaki turned his head to look up at the elderly man., "What is it," he asked, a slight trace of concern seeping into his tone.

"Well, she seems to be missing."

"Missing," Ryuzaki repeated.

"What do you mean, that's impossible," Mr Yagami said.

"She must have slipped out some how. She's not in her room."

"Mr Yagami, call Light-kun, it's highly likely that she'll go there," Ryuzaki said as he faced forward again and placed his thumb on the edge of his lip.

"He's not answering," Mr Yagami said worriedly as he hung up the phone after several failed attempts to contact Light. "I'll try the house."

Ryuzaki ignored Mr Yagami as he stared straight ahead with narrowed eyes.

"When," Mr Yagami asked loudly.

Ryuzaki's head snapped over to Mr Yagami and he watched curiously as the man listened to his wife speak, his face growing concerned and worried.

"Alright, have Light call me when he gets back," Mr Yagami ended his call and snapped his phone shut. "You were right, she went to our house. Apparently there was a young woman there with Light, someone he knows from school. The two were in Light's room when Sayu let Noriko in the house, they don't really know what happened after that, only that Noriko ran out of the house very upset over something and Light was running after her yelling her name."

"They aren't there now," Ryuzaki inquired.

"No. Light hasn't returned to the house yet, he'll call me when me when he gets back."

"Who was the girl," Ryuzaki asked innocently.

"Sachiko wasn't sure all she knew was that she knew Light from school," Mr Yagami replied.

"I see. Watari could you drive around the Yagami neighborhood, see if you can't spot Noriko. I'd like to know that she's safe."

"Of course Ryuzaki," Watari replied with a slight nod before turning to exit the room.

For what felt like hours, Ryuzaki sat quietly, fiddling with some papers now and then so it appeared he was doing something, but his thoughts were turned to Noriko and why she would sneak out of the hotel. He wasn't sure what her reasons could be for doing something so rash. Lately, she had been so withdrawn and quiet, he had also noticed that her suspicion of Light seemed to have sky rocketed for some reason that was unknown to him. She would always watch him discreetly and the look that crossed her face when he spoke told Ryuzaki that she was trying to decipher something from the words.

A vibrating noise broke him from his thoughts as Mr Yagami's phone began to vibrate where it sat on the table in front of the older man.

"Light," Mr Yagami began. "Is Noriko there?"

There was a short pause and a frown creased the man's forehead. "I see. You don't know where she went?" Another pause. "Well keep looking, we have someone out looking for her as well. We'll find her Light, don't worry."

"She's gone," Mr Yagami said as he hung up his cell phone. "Light said she came into his room, saw his friend there. Apparently she became upset, and left the house after giving him her ring back."

"I see. Did he say who the girl was?" Ryuzaki asked.

"Misa, no last name though."

"Hmm. It seems strange to me that Noriko would react in such a way. She trusts Light, why would she get the wrong idea as he is implying, if that were the case. She had to have seen something to make her think otherwise."

"I know Light, he would never do something like that to Noriko. He loves her, he always has," Mr Yagami replied heatedly. "He would give her the world if could."

"Of course, of course he would," Ryuzaki said absently. 'How far would he go to give her the world though, I think that's the question we should ask. Would he kill her if she found out he was Kira? Somehow I don't think so. He does care for her, that much is obvious. It's more likely he would try to distance her from the investigation and everyone involved. If she ran away though, where will she go? Would she come back here, or would she go elsewhere?' His thoughts trailed off as he chewed on his thumb vigorously.

* * *

"She never came back last night?"

Mr Yagami shook his head at his visibly worried and tired son. "I'm sorry Light. We can't seem to find her anywhere. Is there anywhere that she would go?"

Light shook his head and frowned as he ran a hand through his hair. "No. She has nowhere to go."

"Did she say anything to you," Ryuzaki asked from his crouched position in his chair, he was facing forward, Light and Mr Yagami as well as Matsuda all stood a few feet behind him conversing quietly.

"No," Light answered. "She just opened the door and freaked out."

"But she never spoke, or gave any indication as to why she was there?"

"No Ryuzaki. All she did was look at me and then Misa, drop her ring and run."

"I don't understand why she would do that. She must have had a reason for her actions. For going to see you, and then her reaction, that to me seems a little extreme, even for her," Ryuzaki replied.

"I don't know what you're getting at, but my fiance is somewhere in this city with no money and nowhere to go. I want to find her before something happens to her," Light said angrily.

"Hmm, somehow I imagine she's in less danger out there than in here," Ryuzaki answered as he took a sip of the thick, sugary coffee before him.

"You still think I'm Kira, don't you?! You think I'd hurt Noriko?!" Light asked, his voice rising as he took a step towards the detective who was still facing away from him.

"Yes," Ryuzaki answered. "I don't think you'd hurt Noriko though. Not unless it was absolutely necessary. She's important to you, you'd give her the world, would you not?"

"Of course I would," Light retorted.

"How far would you go to do it? Would you kill, would you get rid of anyone who could ever possibly harm her, make the world a safer place for her?"

"Ryuzaki," Mr Yagami cut in, the detective's words biting into his mind.

"Forgive me, it seems I got carried away," Ryuzaki replied.

* * *

Noriko was busy eating her second helping of miso soup and munching away at the rice and tofu she had ordered. It seemed that her host was quite popular and they were sitting at a rather crowded table, Noriko wasn't paying much attention to the several other men, aside from Higuchi who had somehow shown up right after they had walked out of Reiji's office, and had invited himself to have breakfast with them in the restaurant the building housed on it's first floor.

Reiji was to her right and Higuchi to her left, the latter kept inching his way closer to Noriko, who in turn was inching her way closer to Reiji not even bothering to care about what anyone else might think.

She was nibbling on a pickled plum when she felt a pressure on her leg, she looked down to see that Higuchi was now so close their legs were touching. Swallowing the plum in a single gulp, Noriko put some space between them but if she moved anymore she would practically be in Reiji's lap. She was startled again when Reiji, who was apparently paying more attention than she thought, discreetly put an arm around her waist while continuing to talk with several of the other people at the table.

Noriko nearly choked on her food in her surprise, but was able to cover it up as she took a drink of her green tea. She saw the corners of Reiji's lips tweak slightly as he lightly squeezed her side before removing his hand. Higuchi who had seen the gesture that no one else was paying enough attention to notice, scowled, but within seconds he was no longer leg to leg with Noriko.

She sighed in relief as she set her green tea back on the table and went back to picking at her food, she was apparently quite hungry. She tuned out the conversations around her as she continued to eat almost every piece of food in front of her, that is until her name was suddenly mentioned.

"Huh," she said as she looked up, her chopsticks held in her hand as she blinked at several sets of eyes that were now focused on her.

"She is my new assistant," Reiji said as he smiled pleasantly at her.

"Uh..." was all she could manage to come up with.

"Tired of Lisa already," one of the men asked with a chuckle.

"Not at all, Lisa will continue to do her duties, Ms Mori will have her hands full with her own job as it is. Isn't that right," Reiji asked as he looked over to her.

"Yes, of course. Very busy," she replied with a smile she hoped looked less confused then she felt.

"What made you want an assistant Namikawa, and she looks a little young," the same man said.

Noriko frowned at him, but didn't say anything, she was the assistant after all, it wasn't her place to speak. Or was it, she wasn't too sure on the matter.

"It's been very busy lately, I thought I could use the help. Ms Mori may be young, but she's quite capable," Reiji answered smoothly.

"I'm sure she is," she heard another man whisper to someone.

She made a disgusted grimace at the tone of his voice, she knew what the man was implying and she didn't appreciate the implication. Reiji seemed to ignore the comment although she saw the sharp glance he sent in the direction the comment came from.

"It was a pleasure eating with you gentleman, but now that my new assistant has finished I think it's time to show her around and introduce her to her new job," Reiji said as he pushed himself up.

"You mean life, we all know how hard you push your subordinates. Poor girl doesn't know what she's getting into," a middle aged man said teasingly as he smiled at Noriko.

Noriko smiled back as she stood from her seat and bowed to the men at the table. "It was pleasure meeting you all."

* * *

"You look distracted," Reiji said as he looked up from some papers to glance at Noriko who had been staring out the window for nearly an hour without moving, but sighing every now and then.

"A little," she confessed.

"What's on your mind?"

Noriko sighed. "I don't want to go back, but I know I have to. It'll be easier that way, otherwise there will be police looking for me and I know one of the top detectives quite well, so I don't think I'd be able to avoid them long. On top of that, I have nowhere else to go. My options are limited and it's rather frustrating."

Reiji flipped some of his hair out of his eyes as he leaned back in his chair to stare at Noriko. "What if you did have somewhere else to go, what would you do?"

"I think I would still go back first. If everyone knows I'm alive and well, mostly, there would be no reason for the police to look for me. It wouldn't be a runaway case, or a missing persons case. It would save a lot of trouble and I could disappear, somehow, after that," she replied.

"Well, sounds to me like you have a plan."

Noriko shrugged. "A plan, yes. A way to make it work, not so much. I have nowhere to go, no money, no job, no nothing really."

"Wrong. You have a job, or have you forgotten? A job comes with benefits, like income and of course that would enable you to buy what you don't have."

"True enough," Noriko agreed. "Doesn't solve the roof problem though, although I have a feeling you've already figured that one out too, haven't you?"

Reiji smiled at her and she sighed as she rested her chin in her hand. "I have several spare rooms, you're welcome to any of them."

"You barely know me, what if I'm some psycho killer?"

"I doubt it, but I'll take my chances."

"I don't know..."

"Why not give yourself a few days to think things over, and of course you can stay at my home until you've decided," Reiji offered.

Noriko frowned as she looked at the handsome long haired man, but finally sighed. "Honestly, I like that idea. I don't think going back today is a great idea, I might get carried away and do something stupid. I don't have any..anything though."

"Not a problem."

* * *

Noriko sighed for what had to have been the hundredth time in less than five minutes as she followed after a silent, brooding Lisa who was gathering up different things for Noriko to try on. Namikawa had asked Lisa to take Noriko shopping for clothes and other necessities. She had to admit though that while the woman was a bit of a pain, she had a very good fashion sense.

"Uh, I don't think that's necessary," Noriko said as Lisa grabbed a black cocktail dress from one of the racks. It was knee length with a flowing skirt and a low cut back, with beading and sequin detail on the straps and under the chest.

"Trust me, it will be," she said.

"This stuff is a little expensive, don't you think?"

Lisa stopped and looked at Noriko with her dark brown eyes. "I don't know why Mr Namikawa is helping you, it's not really like him to be honest. However, he has some interest in you or he wouldn't bother to give you the time of day. I don't know if you've noticed, but he isn't the type who skimps, on anything. It's the best and that's really all there is to it, anything less than perfection and he's not interested. He told me to get you things to wear to work, things you'll be comfortable in outside of work, and whatever else you may need. I plan on doing as I was told, I like my job and I plan on keeping it. You seem like the type of girl who doesn't put a lot of thought into what she wears," she held up a hand to silence Noriko who had opened her mouth to retort but huffed and looked away instead. "I don't mean that in a bad way, I envy you actually. Do you have any idea how irritating it is to have to wear heels everyday?"

"I have a feeling I'll understand soon," Noriko replied sulkily.

"You're right, you will. Now I know we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot, but I was honestly just a little surprised. Mr Namikawa doesn't bring his personal life into the office, and to give me some credit you looked..."

"Like hell," Noriko said. "Yeah, well I sort of had a rough night. I walked in on my fiance and some skimpy blond, after that I wound up in a park with no place to go. I ran into Reiji..uh, Mr Namikawa, while I was walking around the city trying to figure out what I was going to do."

"I'm sorry to hear about that," Lisa said apologetically. "Well, let's have some fun shall we. Oh, and I was trying to say money isn't an issue when it comes to Mr Namikawa, he's the V.P of Sales of a multi-million dollar, world wide company. If he offers you something, take it, he has more money than he knows what to do with."

Noriko laughed. "I suppose you're right, but is the dress really necessary, and heels," she groaned.

"Sorry hun," Lisa sang as she turned and they started going through the racks once again.

Noriko groaned dramatically and Lisa laughed.

* * *

"You two seem to be in a good mood," Namikawa observed as he approached the two females who were sitting in Lisa's office drinking tea and talking about the different outfits they had gotten for Noriko and the many ways she could wear much of it.

"Hello Mr Namikawa," Lisa greeted as the long haired man walked into her office from the main hall.

"Hello," Noriko offered as well with a smile.

"I trust things went well," he asked Lisa.

Lisa nodded. "Yes sir, she should be set for anything you throw at her."

"She's not kidding. She insisted on buying a dress, a nice dress, but a dress. Seriously, I don't think I'll ever wear it," Noriko replied as she tossed a quick glare at Lisa who just smiled sweetly.

"Ah, good. There's a party over the weekend I'll be attending, you'll be accompanying me, and if I know Lisa, the dress she picked out will be perfect."

Noriko opened her mouth to say something, anything, but she didn't have anything to say.

"Close your mouth dear, I told you you would need the dress," Lisa said.

"Yeah, yeah," Noriko said as she waved a hand at Lisa dismissively.

"You'll look so cute. I'll have to show you how to do your hair, and don't forget about the make up I got for you, the woman at showed you how to apply everything, so don't forget," Lisa said cheerily.

Noriko groaned and let her head drop onto the woman's desk. "Kill me now. Make up, dresses, heels, next you'll be telling me I have to get a hair..."

"A hair what, cut?" Lisa asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Actually that sounds like a great idea," Noriko replied as she raised her head form the desk. "I think I'll get a hair cut. Not yet though, in a few days, give me sometime to think over what I want done, you know."

Namikawa raised a brow at Noriko, the look on her face told him she wasn't being entirely truthful about the reasons for the sudden decision to cut her hair.

"Oh, I want to go. You have to let me come with you," Lisa insisted.

"Yeah of course," Noriko replied absently with a smile before yawning and raising a hand to cover it as best she could.

"I think you could use some sleep, in a bed, I'll be done in just a moment. Let me put these files on my desk and we can go," Namikawa said as he held up two files before disappearing through his office door.

"You're staying with him, you didn't tell me that," Lisa whispered conspiratorially.

Noriko shrugged. "I don't have anywhere to go now, and he offered to let me use one of his spare rooms for now. I would rather that then sleep in the park again, that wasn't so fun."

"Right...So are you sure there's nothing going on between the two of you?"

"Of course not!"

"Ok, ok, sorry...He's a very handsome man though, isn't he?"

"Well yeah," Noriko replied as she blushed slightly and looked away.

"Ha, you like him."

"I do not. Now shut it Lisa."

"No, this is too good. I want dirt woman! You must tell me everything!"

"There won't be anything to tell. We're friends and I just broke off my engagement hours ago."

"For now," Lisa replied with a smirk and a wink as Namikawa reemerged from his office to see Noriko blushing as she glared at a triumphant Lisa.

* * *

Noriko had to resist the very strong urge to gape open mouthed as Reiji pulled his very nice black sports car, the type and model were all foreign to Noriko who had never owned a car, let alone paid any attention to them, up to a very expensive modern looking home. There was a gate that surrounded the immense property and all the grass and gardens were immaculately landscaped and kept. The majority of the walls were darkly tinted windows and Noriko was impressed by the sheer size of the large house.

After having parked in one of what was apparently several garages, Noriko exited the car and followed after Reiji as he made his way into the grand house.

"Wow," was all she managed as they walked through a small hallway that led to a large kitchen that had light colored granite counter tops and what cabinets that Noriko thought could possibly be cherry wood with a slightly darker finish, they were simple yet modern with just a single metal handle on each. The flooring was wood a different color than the cabinets, darker with no hint of red. All the appliances were all stainless steel and very shiny.

"And this is just the kitchen," Reiji teased.

"Which looks like it cost more than my old house," Noriko mumbled.

"I'll show you around, follow me."

Noriko admired the entirety of the large, five bedroom house. The floors through out the home were mainly wood, except in the bedrooms and the bathrooms. The bedroom she would be using, which was across from Reiji's had plush gray carpeting and was furnished sparsely with a low bed that sat on a platform of wood that had been painted black, the sheets and coverlet were a deep wine red with a few black and gray accents. There were two nightstands and a dresser in the same black painted wood and a large window in the back that over looked one of the gardens, a red leather love seat sat in front of the window to allow the occupant of the room to sit and read or just stare out into the world. This particular room also had its own bathroom as well.

"I suppose you want to get some sleep, if you need anything, you know where my room is. Feel free to help yourself to anything you'd like. Also, if you're hungry there's plenty in the kitchen. I'll be up for a little while longer as well if you need anything."

"Thank you. This is really very nice of you, I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough," Noriko said as she struggled to look at Reiji and smile, but she was rather embarrassed and instead looked out the window.

"Not a problem, have a good night."

"Night," Noriko called as he left her standing just inside the room that was to be hers during her stay.

She looked around and sighed, the room was rather large and open, it made Noriko a little lonely. She had spent the day with so many distractions that now that she was alone the weight of everything once again crashed down on her and she plopped down onto the bed and put her head in her hands. The clothing her and Lisa had bought had been delivered to the house earlier in the day by someone and a housekeeper had put them all in the closet and in the drawers for her. After sitting for a few minutes Noriko explored the room to get a feel for where all of her new things were and after finding everything she grabbed the black knee length silk nightgown Lisa insisted she get instead of shorts and a tank top. She slipped into the bathroom and out of the clothes she was in, she took a quick shower and once done, retreated back into the bedroom and into the bed.

To say she was exhausted would be an understatement, she was completely and utterly wiped out. She hadn't slept in over a day, she had run around town like a mad woman, and then had somehow managed to find a job, a place to stay and acquire all new belongings in that time. It was a tad overwhelming, considering the fact that yesterday she was still engaged and staying with one of the world's top detectives helping, or trying to, find Kira. Now she wasn't engaged, she had found Kira, and she was staying with her new boss who was the Vice President of Sales for a company she wasn't even qualified to walk into, let alone work for, in her opinion at least.

She pulled back the coverlet and crawled between the sheets. She figured that regardless of how tired she was that sleep would elude her. Well she was wrong, she was out almost as soon as her head touched the soft feather pillow.

* * *

Please review!


	26. Chapter 26 You're Safe Now

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note.

* * *

**Chapter 26**

**You're Safe Now **

_Ryuzaki sat in a desk chair, facing a wall of computer screens. His disheveled hair stuck out oddly against the harsh glow of the monitors before him. Light was standing up, a few feet behind the detective, a manic grin on his flawless face. There were others in the room, but none of them seemed to notice Light's behavior. She noticed though, that his eyes weren't on the detective, but instead on the Shinigami that had been attached to the girl she had walked in on Light with. _

_The bony creature was disappearing through a wall as she grabbed the black notebook at her side._

"_No," she whispered._

_Light's head swung towards her and the grin faltered for a moment before it was replaced by a less threatening smile._

_She shook her head at him and the smile only widened. _

_'I'm doing this for you,' she heard him say in her head as if she were recalling a previous conversation they had had. _

"_No," she said again. "Stop."_

_'I will make you the goddess of a new world. You will be my queen,' she heard Light's familiar voice say. A voice that used to soothe her, calm her and make her feel so warm. Now it only made her shiver._

_She began to hyperventilate as she stared at him, her body shaking and silent tears falling from her eyes. _

_Ryuzaki was currently completely unaware of the interaction going on between the two of them, actually she was fairly certain no one but Light could even see her. Ryuzaki was speaking with Watari through the computer in front of him when Mr Yagami, Matsuda, the man she knew as Aihara and another man she hadn't seen before, all crowded around him and began to argue loudly._

"_You can't do that Ryuzaki, this is insane," Mr Yagami insisted._

"_Yeah, if the thirteen day rule is real then whoever does that would have to keep writing names!" Matsuda shouted._

"_Why are you doing this," Aihara asked angrily._

"_To test the limitations of the notebook obviously," Ryuzaki replied, completely at ease and not the least bit put off by the heated debate he had stirred up._

_'What's going on ,' Noriko thought. 'Thirteen day rule? Writing names? Are they talking about the notebooks?'_

_There was a sudden loud crash that caused Noriko to jump and her head flew towards the wall the shinigami had disappeared through only moments before. _

"_Watari," she cried the same instant Ryuzaki did._

_There was a plip from the computer before everything went black and a message appeared on the screen._

_'**ALL DATA DELETED**'_

_Light smiled at her again before turning to lean over Ryuzaki. "Data deleted? What happened?" he asked sounding concerned._

_Noriko was shaking so badly that her knees buckled beneath her and she fell to the cold tile floor. Her breathing was now forced gasps as she watched the scene before her helplessly._

"_I had instructed Watari that if anything were to ever happen to him, he should erase all the data that he could. And set up the system to erase everything after a certain amount of time." Ryuzaki answered. His hands were grasping his knees tightly, his knuckles turning white from the tension._

"_If something happened? You mean like death," the man Noriko didn't know asked. He was fairly tall with __spiky dark hair and was dressed in a dark gray suit._

"_Hey, where's the shinigami," Aihara asked as he looked around the room._

_Noriko's hands clenched by her sides when she saw Ryuzaki's back stiffen and his hold on the spoon he had been holding in his fingers slacken._

"_Please don't," Noriko whispered to Light who was watching Ryuzaki through the corners of his eyes. She was the only one to notice the triumphant glint in his eyes as the detective let out a small cry and fell from his chair and on to the floor, clutching his chest._

"_Ryuzaki!!" Light shouted as he ran to the raven eyed detective's side._

"_Get away," Noriko said weakly. "Get away from him."_

_Noriko struggled to push herself to her feet as Ryuzaki looked up at Light. The realization was bright in his eyes. He was right. He knew that now, but it was too late to do anything about it. She was almost to her feet when his dark eyes found her. She halted when the quickly dimming orbs locked on hers._

"_I was right," he said to her._

_She nodded as tears continued to stream down her face._

"_Don't..Don't let him..." and with that his eyes closed and Noriko sobbed before sinking back to the floor, her head in her hands._

_'You knew.' She heard Ryuzaki's voice saying in her head. She sobbed again as her body shook fiercely. 'Don't let him win.'_

_'I won't, but please don't die. Don't die. I can't...I can't do this on-'_

"Noriko!"

She sucked in a deep breath and her eyes flew open as she shoved herself into a sitting position.

"W-What...What happened," she said through her ragged breaths as she looked around the room anxiously. Her eyes finally landed on Reiji who was looking at her with worry.

"You were screaming," Reiji informed her calmly. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, one hand resting on hers that was still gripping a fistful of sheets. He was in a pair of loose blue pajama pants and a plain gray shirt.

"But..But...I.."

"Just relax. You're safe, you're not in any danger," he told her.

She blinked at him a few times and shook her head. "I know," she whispered as she drew her knees into her chest and laid her forehead down.

"Are you alright," he asked in concern.

Noriko swallowed before speaking, her breathing was still uneven and she was trying to get it under control. "I'm alright. Sorry I woke you."

"Don't worry about that. I'm more concerned for you," he replied.

"I'll be fine. Unfortunately, nightmares are relatively frequent occurrences for me," Noriko said as she lifted her head to smile half heartedly.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Noriko shook her head. "No, thank you. I'd rather not. It was too...real, I don't want to think about it right now."

"You should really try to get some more rest, we have to be up in an hour, it's just after five am."

"I'll try. Sorry I woke you."

"Again, don't worry about that. If you need anything, don't hesitate to tell me," Reiji said as he stood from her bed and walked out of the room.

With a sigh, she laid back down in the bed and stared up at the ceiling. Sleep wasn't going to visit her again so after a few minutes of nothing but think of the strange and very real dream she untangled herself from the bedsheets and walked into the bathroom.

* * *

Wrapping the towel around herself as she stepped out of the steamy shower, Noriko poked her head out the door and took a quick look around the bedroom just to be sure no one was there. When she was satisfied, she walked over to the dresser and pulled out some of her new and rather lacy under things. Lisa's doing of course. After putting on the red and black lace bra and underwear set Noriko noticed that there was a stereo on the dresser. She had failed to notice it before, partly because it was one of the thin, sleek types that resembled a piece of art more than a stereo system and partly because she just hadn't been paying enough attention.

Leaning over to study the silver mechanism for a moment, she finally figured out how to work it and flipped through the channels that were displayed on the LCD screen. It seemed that the stereo was a satellite radio system and Noriko had many listening options. She finally chose a station that was playing the soundtracks to anything that was Final Fantasy related.

Humming to the tune of the music, she made her way to the closet and took out a pair of smoky gray slacks with a wide waist and a light gray button up. Once dressed she also grabbed a matching vest from the closet and put it on over the button up, it had a single button that cinched her waist in so that she looked curvier than usual. Not that she was complaining, she actually really liked the outfit, she just wasn't used to having to dress in anything other than comfy jeans.

Checking the time she saw it was only 6:15. If she remembered correctly Reiji wouldn't actually be up and ready to go until closer to 7:30.

"Hmmm," she mused as she looked into the bathroom at the bag that still held the make up Lisa had also insisted she buy. It wasn't much since Noriko blatantly refused to wear it at all at first. In the end Lisa had insisted that she at least get some face powder, blush, a few lipsticks, mascara, some eye liner and of course eye shadow, in several different shades. Noriko had to give in after Lisa brought up the fact that she was no longer just an average college student, she was now the assistant to a very powerful man, and she needed to look the part.

Shrugging, she decided that a little make up couldn't hurt. Using the brushes that the woman at the department store had told her how to use she carefully applied some face powder and blush. She dusted her eyes with a light coating of a dark gray eyeshadow and applied a quick coat of mascara. Looking in the mirror after she was satisfied with the fact that she still looked like her and not someone else, she combed through her hair and decided to pull it into an elegant ponytail with her bangs left out around her face.

"It's weird how well I clean up," she mumbled to herself as she left the bathroom and walked over to the closet. She looked down at the several pairs of heels and groaned. With a sigh she grabbed the same black peep toe ones she had worn the day before.

Not bothering to slip them on yet, she walked barefoot out of the room with them in hand and headed towards Reiji's kitchen. She stopped and looked around the kitchen, not entirely sure what she wanted or even where to start looking if she did. Not to mention she felt a little odd being in someone else's home and just helping herself to their stuff.

"Did you get anymore sleep?"

Noriko squeaked and wheeled around to face a chuckling Reiji. He was now dressed in a well pressed suit that was either a very dark gray or a very light black, he wore a beige shirt underneath the blazer and a black tie. "Sorry," he apologized.

"It's alright. I'm just a little on edge still. In answer to your question though, no I didn't get any more sleep." She answered quickly.

"I'm sorry to hear that. If you're ready we can get going."

Noriko nodded. "I'm ready."

* * *

By the end of day, ten hours later, Noriko felt as if she had been trampled by a herd of elephants. Her feet were killing her, her back ached and she was pretty sure that if she had to smile one more time her cheeks may break off.

She sat down in the chair across from Reiji's desk with a small groan followed by a relieved sigh when she slipped her feet out of the heels that had been constricting her feet all day.

"Am I that difficult to work for," Reiji asked in a teasing tone.

"You're an absolute slave driver," Noriko groaned dramatically with a laugh. "I think this might take a little while to get used to. There's a lot to remember."

"You'll be fine. I already asked Lisa if she could get you a few things, you should have them tomorrow."

"Like what?" Noriko asked as she pulled her feet on to the chair and absently rubbed at her aching heels.

"You'll see tomorrow now won't you."

Noriko crinkled her nose. "I don't like surprises."

Reiji laughed at her comment. "I think you'll like these."

"We'll see," she replied stubbornly. "Anyways, I haven't had much time to think about anything today, but if at all possible I'd like to go and see a few people over the weekend. I really should let everyone know I'm alive."

"Not a problem. We have that dinner on Saturday, but nothing planned before that if you'd like to go then or Sunday."

"Saturday would work. What's this dinner for again?" Noriko asked. In the course of the day she had become extremely comfortable around Reiji. She had always been comfortable around him, but she thought that working with him might get awkward for some reason. It didn't though, conversation always flowed easily and if she didn't understand something he wouldn't get impatient with her, but instead explain it to her.

"It's a benefit held by the Museum of Modern Art, all the proceeds will help in building a children's hospital," he answered.

"Oh. That's a very good cause," Noriko replied.

"It is. I'm almost finished up, we'll be leaving soon."

"No rush," Noriko said just as her stomach decided to rumble loudly. She blushed and bit her bottom lip when Reiji glanced up at her and chuckled.

* * *

It was now Saturday morning and in the past three days Noriko had been run ragged as she learned everything that her new job entailed, as of yesterday night she had pretty much everything down. To say that her job was full time was a bit of an understatement. She was always on call, literally. She was the proud owner of a cell phone that almost everyone in the company had the number to and didn't hesitate to call if Reiji couldn't be reached. The phone also had many features that Noriko had yet to fully understand, but knew that it wouldn't be long before she did. She also owned a black leather bound planner and notebook that she was never seen without and she even had business cards.

She stretched and yawned widely before opening her eyes and grumbling at the light that she could see behind the thick shades of the window. With a groan, she pushed herself out of the bed and stumbled to the bathroom. After a long, hot shower she dressed in a nice pair of dark wash jeans and a red top with short sleeves and a high collar that tied like a scarf over her right shoulder. After some grumbling, she pulled out the only pair of shoes that Lisa had allowed her to get that weren't heels. A pair of simple black flats.

She brushed her hair and put it in a rather messy ponytail, but she didn't care. She didn't have to look decent today, until later at least and she intended to be comfortable until then. When she was done, she wandered her way to the kitchen, she was now beyond caring about being a burden or some pathetic moocher. With the amount of running around she did on a daily basis she was always hungry or thirsty and had quickly gotten over her shyness at being in someone else's home, helping herself to their things.

As she neared the kitchen she saw that Reiji was up and reading the paper with a cup of coffee in his hand at the dining table.

"Good morning," she said as she poured herself a cup of coffee and grabbed an apple after putting a cinnamon raisin bagel in the toaster.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He asked as he looked up from his paper.

Noriko winced slightly, the nightmares had yet to stop and she still woke up screaming on occasion. "I did, thanks. You?"

"Great."

"Good," she said as the bagel popped out of the toaster and she grabbed it, hissing at the heat as she tossed it on a plate and began to put cream cheese on it, muttering under her breath as she repeatedly burned her fingers.

"You really need to learn that things are hot after you cook them."

"Yeah well I'm hungry, and I'm impatient," she replied as she walked around the counter to sit at the table with him.

"When is Lisa supposed to be here? Reiji asked.

"I told her to be here at noon, so I'll probably get a phone call in about ten minutes saying she's on her way and that we're going shopping. The girl doesn't seem to realize that I'm still broke," Noriko replied as she glanced at the clock. It was only a little after nine in the morning.

"If you-"

A loud ring from her phone that she had stuck in her back pocket cut Reiji off and Noriko sighed. "Speak of the devil. Hello Lisa...Yes...Yes...No...I don't have-Hey!" She protested as her phone was gently plucked from her hands by Reiji.

"Hello Lisa," he greeted. "Yes, she is...She would love to...I'll give her an advance on her paycheck that way she can't have any arguments with the arrangement."

Noriko glared at Reiji, who was smiling warmly at her as he listened to Lisa say something in an excited squeal.

"See you then," he said as he hung up her phone and set it on the table.

"You, are a traitor," Noriko said accusingly.

"How is that?"

"Have you been shopping with Lisa?"

"No."

"My point exactly. If I had an excuse not to go then there was a chance, albeit a small one, that I could have gotten out of shopping. Instead, you tell her you'll give me an advance on my pay just so I can go with her. Am I that annoying?" Noriko asked.

"Not at all. I just thought you would like to spend some time with a friend. Besides, you've had a long week, you need a break."

"Shopping with Lisa is not a break, it's torture," Noriko groaned dramatically.

"Well I hope you're prepared for it then because she'll be here in ten minutes," Reiji replied.

"But she lives like an hour from here," Noriko half shouted.

"She left early."

"You're enjoying this," Noriko accused as she stared at the handsome man across from her.

"Not at all," he answered, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

"Yeah right. Now where's my money," she grumbled as she bit into her bagel and sulked.

Reiji stood from the table, chuckling as he walked away and Noriko grumbled under her breath. When he returned and set a credit card in front of her as well as a small book to keep track of the transactions it was used for, she raised her head to look at him curiously.

"I don't get it," she said as she picked up the red and gold card and saw that her name was on it.

"It's your own account. You'll need somewhere to put your pay so I had Lisa set this up for you. I made the first deposit just the other day. I think your salary should be quite satisfactory," he said as he nodded to the little transaction book.

Raising a brow at him she reached for the book and opened it to the first page. She was in the process of taking a sip of coffee when her eyes found the numbers on the top line that were written in elegant script. She choked as she swallowed and started coughing, her eyes watered as she raised a hand to her chest as she kept choking on the coffee.

"This is a joke, right?" she asked when she finally managed to stop coughing and choking.

"That's only for this week. Is there a problem?"

"I didn't even work the whole week. I started Tuesday. That's too much," Noriko said in a rush as she shook the transaction book at him.

"It's not actually. You're my assistant, I determine your salary and I say that is how much you make. You don't make much more than Lisa." He added as an afterthought.

Noriko nearly spit her coffee all over the table. "I make more than Lisa!" She asked after she swallowed the coffee.

"A few dollars." He replied with an amused smile.

"If that's just for a week you mean to tell me I make... four thousand five hundred dollars a month?" Noriko asked in sheer disbelief.

"You do."

"Holy crap," she muttered. "That's...cool."

"Still worried about going shopping?"

"Not really," she answered.

"Good, enjoy yourself. Lisa knows that you need to be back here and ready to go by five, she'll help you prepare."

"I know, oh there she is," Noriko said as a car horn beeped from outside. "I'll see you later."

"You're forgetting something," Reiji called after her.

"Huh," she asked as she turned around to look at him. He was holding out the credit card and the transaction book. "Oh, thanks." She said as she grabbed them and ran.

* * *

Noriko took a deep breath as Lisa pulled up to the hotel she had snuck out of nearly five days before. She had told Lisa that her friend was staying here with his father until they could find a suitable house, she was glad she didn't question her further.

"You'll wait here?" Noriko asked nervously as she eyed the front of the large building.

"Yup, you sure you want to go alone?" Lisa asked, sensing her discomfort with the situation.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll be back out as soon as possible." Noriko said as she opened the door of Lisa's black Toyota Prius and stepped out of the vehicle.

'Ok, just breathe, don't panic, just get this over with.' She told herself as she walked through the lobby and into the elevators.

When she walked out of the elevator a few moments later on the fifteenth floor she took a deep breath and walked down the hall. She paused outside the room she had stayed in with Ryuzaki and hesitated. She pulled out the white key card that she had tucked into her back pocket earlier that morning, it was the only thing she had taken with her when she had left. After taking a deep breath to steady her nerves she stuck the key in the lock, when the light on the door flashed green she turned the knob and opened the door.

She kept her head held high as she walked into the room and six pairs of eyes fell on her. Four looked surprised, one set looked relieved and bored all at the same time, while the oddest just looked amused. Noriko smiled at Ryuzaki whose lips tweaked up slightly in response.

"Hello everyone," she said as she walked towards the living room where Ryuzaki, Light, Mr Yagami, Matsuda and Aihara were all sitting. She glanced at the shinigami behind Light and a disgusted look crossed her features, which neither Light nor Ryuzaki missed.

"Noriko, you're okay," Light said happily as he stood from the couch and hurried towards her.

"I'm fine, but you won't be if you touch me," she replied with a sweet smile. She could have sworn Ryuzaki snickered, but when she looked over at him his face was partially hidden by the coffee cup he was sipping from.

Light looked surprised and blinked at her sadly. "Noriko, please let me explain," he pleaded.

"Honestly Light there's nothing to explain. I know what I saw, and there's no way you can explain that away," Noriko answered as she looked him in the eyes.

"Please Noriko. Let's just talk in your room-"

"My room is no longer in this hotel. I just came by to let everyone know I was okay and to pick up a few things. I know I told Ryuzaki I would help with the investigation and all, but I don't think he really needs my help any longer. After all, his goal was to piss you off using your fiance, you no longer have one so-"

"Let's talk about this Noriko," Light pleaded as everyone but Ryuzaki tried to look busy with something else.

"No. Now if you'll excuse me, I have someone waiting for me," she said as she turned and made her way to the room that she had claimed.

There was a small suitcase in the closet that she grabbed and began to put some of her things into. While she was grabbing a few things from the dresser, the door opened and closed, but she ignored it. She turned around to place her items in the suitcase only to come face to face with Light. She stared at him blankly for a moment before walking around him. As she passed him, he turned to grab her arm, jerking her to a stop.

"Let go of me," she stated.

"No."

She heard a chuckle and turned to see that the shinigami was laughing at the situation.

"You like apples don't you?"

"Why ya got any," the shinigami asked.

"As a matter of fact," Noriko said as she jerked her arm from Light's grasp and reached into the bag on the bed, "I do."

She pulled out a shiny red apple and held it up with the tips of her fingers. The shinigami started to drool and flew towards her, she resisted the urge to back up and instead held the apple out to him.

"Thanks, you're a lot nicer than Light. He's always so mean to me," he said as he chomped through half the apple.

"Yes, he seems to be an entirely different person since you showed up," Noriko said as she turned her eyes back to Light.

"Let me explain Noriko," Light said to her.

"No need. You're Kira, you lied and I want nothing to do with you."

"Can't you see that what I'm doing is helping-"

"Helping," she snapped as she turned around to face him. "You're killing people and so is that girl. You two are perfect for each other."

"It's not what you think Noriko. She came to find me, I don't want anything to do with her."

"It didn't look that way."

"Noriko, please listen to me. I'm doing this for you. I'm doing this to make-"

SLAP

"How dare you," Noriko said breathlessly as she pulled her hand away from Light's face, as if just coming in contact with his skin had burnt her. Her eyes had widened and she looked like a cornered animal as Light looked at her in disbelief. "Get out," she ordered as she backed away from him.

"I'm making the world a better place, all for you Noriko. I want you to be the goddess of a new world. You deserve-"

"Shut up," she shouted as she covered her ears with her hands. "I don't want to hear that. Don't put this on me, don't make this my fault. Don't-" she stopped talking as Light walked towards her again, his arms out as if to embrace her. She started to shake her head frantically. "No, don't you touch me. Murderer," she hissed as she backed into the wall.

Light stopped abruptly in his tracks and looked at her in shock. "Murderer? Me? I'm getting rid of the scum that infests this world. I'm making this world a safer and more peaceful place. I'm doing what's right, Noriko. I'm not a murderer, I'm a God."

"Listen to yourself," Noriko cried. "Can't you hear how you sound?! What happened to you? What happened to the man I loved? This isn't you Light. Please stop."

"I won't stop until I make sure you feel safe, until I know, without a doubt, that nothing will ever happen to you. You belong to me Noriko, I will protect you," Light said.

Noriko shook her head and swallowed the lump in her throat as tears began to pour from her eyes. "Please leave," she whispered as her chin dropped into her chest and she put all her weight on the wall behind her to keep standing.

"Noriko," Light said softly as he stepped forward and cupped her cheek with his hand.

She couldn't move or breathe as his skin touched hers. She didn't struggle as he tilted her head up and kissed her on the forehead before pulling her into his body and hugging her tightly.

"Let me go," she whispered weakly.

"I will never let you go Noriko. You are mine. I will create a new world for you and you will sit by my side as its queen. You will see that what I am doing is just."

"No."

"I love you and nothing will ever touch you," Light said vehemently as he squeezed her tighter.

"No."

"I will protect you and love you forever in the new world I am creating, once L is dead."

"No," she screamed as she pushed him away from her forcefully.

"Noriko, calm down. Everything will be fine."

"No Light, everything will not be fine," she yelled hysterically. "You're out of your mind. How could you do this to me? To your family? How?!"

"Shhh," Light tried to soothe her as he once again tried to embrace her.

She screamed and shoved him away, running to the other side of the room.

"Don't touch Ryuzaki," she said.

Light's face twisted angrily, she could see the jealousy in his eyes, the hate. It took her breath away for a second before he stepped towards her and grabbed her arms.

"He's the enemy Noriko. Our enemy-"

"No, he's yours. Not mine, he is my friend. He was right and I knew it. I knew it. You're going to have that other shinigami kill him. I saw it. I won't let you, I will protect him. I will do as I'm supposed to and save him." Her words were quick and panicked as she spoke, she saw the truth in his eyes then. He was confused as to how she knew all she did.

"What do you mean protect him like you're supposed to?"

"I am not like you, I'm not a killer. I'm here to protect him. My father, he told me, he's been protecting me from you. I was just too blind, but now...Now, I can see it in your eyes. You did plan on having that other one kill him, didn't you?" Noriko's voice was full of the horror she felt.

Light's teeth clenched together and his eyes darkened. "For us Noriko. I'm doing this so we can be together fo-"

"Get out," she yelled at him, her hands covering her ears again. "Out!" She screeched.

"I'm not going anywhere Noriko. You will be mine, you are mine."

"No, I am not yours. I do not belong to you, and I never will. I will do what I have to to stop you, to get the notebook you own. I will-"

"How do you know about the Death Note?"

"I have secrets of my own. I am the opposite of you, I'm meant to protect."

"Protect? What do you think you can do?" Light asked a smirk on his face as he watched her. "Protect him? That's impossible, the Death Note kills anyone whose name is written in it."

"No, actually it doesn't. Write my name and see what I mean." Noriko challenged

Light looked appalled by the idea, but intrigued all the same.

"I told you she was an interesting human," the shinigami cackled.

"Shut up Ryuk," snapped Light.

"See what I have to put up with," Ryuk said to Noriko.

"What do you mean?" Light asked.

"The notebook will not kill me. I can't be killed by the tools of the shinigami. Just ask your friend there, I'm sure he knows."

Light's eyes cornered over to the shinigami who just shrugged. "What? You never asked?"

"Would you have told me?" Light asked angrily.

"Well, no," Ryuk replied as he hovered in the air over the bed, his hands behind his head as if resting.

"Of course not," Light snapped. "Does this have something to do with what Rem said? That her life span and name is invisible?"

Noriko gasped and looked down at the necklace that was hidden under the shirt she wore.

'It will protect your name from prying eyes.' Isn't that what her father had told her as a child? 'When you're dead you don't need magical protection.' He had said that as well the night in the park. She knew what she needed to do then, she _would_ protect Ryuzaki.

"Get out," Noriko ordered suddenly, her voice stronger than it had been before.

Light looked over at her, the tone in her voice catching his attention.

"Get out," she said again, more forcefully.

"I'm not going any-"

"Get out," she screamed. "Get out. Get out. Get out!!"

The door flew open a moment later to show Mr Yagami and a bored looking Ryuzaki.

"Is everything alright?" Mr Yagami asked as he looked from the red faced Noriko to the stunned Light.

"I want him out of here," Noriko said to him.

"Noriko," Light began to plead, his eyes showing sadness and hurt. But she knew better, this was all just an act to him. A game.

"Get out," she said again.

"Light-kun I think it may be for the best," Ryuzaki said as he stepped into the room and walked up to Light. He positioned himself in a way so that if Light tried to advance toward Noriko he would be able to stop him. He might not have understood it, but he could see the fear in her eyes as she looked at Light and then to him.

Light looked from Ryuzaki to Noriko who was breathing raggedly and looked as if she was about to break into pieces.

"Fine," he said submissively before turning towards the door.

Mr Yagami put a hand on his shoulder and the two walked to the living room.

"Are you alright," Ryuzaki asked as he turned to face her. His hands where shoved into his pockets and his back was slouched.

"Not really," Noriko answered as she sat down on the bed and out her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry about you and Light-kun, it must-"

"Don't be," she said cutting him off and earning herself an annoyed glance from the dark haired man. "I'm not."

Ryuzaki's brow twitched up slightly. "I suppose after seeing him with another woman that is understandable."

"Tch. Yeah of course," Noriko replied.

Ryuzaki continued to study her for a moment before speaking again. "Where are you going to go?"

"I'm staying at a friend's. I'd rather not say where. I'm sorry, I know you wanted to use me in this investigation, but I don't think I'll be of any use to you anymore. I won't say anything of course, but I can't be around him anymore. I hope you understand that."

"I understand. If you're in need of anything, please let me or Watari know. You should probably say good bye to him as well. He's in the next room," Ryuzaki said as he nodded to the wall behind her.

Noriko nodded as she stood up and finished throwing things haphazardly into the suitcase on the bed before zipping it up and pulling on to the floor.

"Can I ask a favor of you," Noriko asked Ryuzaki who was still watching her as if waiting for something.

"Hmm, yes of course."

She reached behind her neck and unclasped her necklace before pulling it out of her shirt and holding it out towards Ryuzaki. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her as he looked at the black cross dangling in his face.

"It's a necklace," he said.

Noriko sighed and rolled her eyes. "You really are a genius aren't ya? I want you to wear it."

"Why?"

"As a favor. Think of it as something to remember me by."

"I don't see how that is necessary, I don't forget-"

He was interrupted when Noriko's phone began to ring loudly. Ryuzaki's lips twitched irritably as she snatched the phone from her bag and flipped it open.

"Noriko Mo- Yes I'm fine, calm down. I'll be right there," she said before hanging up and looking back to Ryuzaki.

"Just wear the damn necklace," she said as she held it out to him again. "Please?"

"You seem awfully insistent, is there a reason?"

"I'm superstitious and this necklace is good luck, I want you to have it. I think you need it more than I do," she said as her eyes flicked to the door.

"I don't beli-"

"Oh shut up," Noriko snapped as she walked up to the detective and put the necklace around his neck. She felt him stiffen as her hands brushed against the skin of his neck, but he made no move to pull away from her. "There, that's not so bad is it?" she said as she stepped away from him.

He looked down with his dark eyes and stared at the dark metal that stood out against the white of his shirt. Noriko sighed and stepped forward, she tucked the necklace into the shirt and patted it on his chest.

"Better," she asked.

"I suppose. It's cold."

"You're weird. You know that?"

"I've been told," he replied.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get going. My friend is getting worried about me," she said as she grabbed the suitcase and started to walk to the door. She hesitated when she got there and turned back to Ryuzaki. "Don't take it off, ok? Until this is all over."

Ryuzaki eyed her curiously for a moment, but upon seeing the look in her eyes, the desperation, he nodded.

"Thank you. Now be a gentleman and walk me to the door."

"You mean to say, don't let Light-kun near you correct?"

"Correct. Now get moving mister number one sugar eating detective," she ordered playfully as she motioned to the door.

When they walked into the living room she glanced over to see Light sitting on the couch with his father, his head was in his hands as if he were crying. She looked away quickly and picked up her pace to the door.

"Noriko, wait," he called.

Ryuzaki stood between him and her as Light approached.

"Move Ryuzaki."

"I'm afraid I can't do that Light-kun. Nori-san doesn't wish to speak with you at the moment," Ryuzaki replied casually.

"Nori-san, huh," she mumbled as she reached the door and pulled it open.

"Noriko," Light begged.

She glanced back at him and she could see the anger in his eyes mixed with the hatred of the man standing between them. She shook her head and left, closing the door behind her.

Remembering what Ryuzaki had said about Watari being in the next room, she tugged her suitcase to the door just down the hall and knocked softly. The door opened a moment later to a smiling Watari.

"Hello dear. It's a pleasure to know you're well," he said happily.

Noriko smiled at the kind old mind. "I just wanted to say goodbye. I've decided to stay with a friend of mine, I just can't be a part of this anymore."

"I understand dear. I wish you the best of luck, and if you ever need anything you let me know," he said as he handed her a small plain card. There was a number on the card in black.

"Thank you Watari. For everything. It was really nice to meet you, and Ryuzaki too. I'm going to miss you both."

"And we'll miss you, but you need to focus on yourself and moving on with your life. You're young enjoy it."

Noriko nodded. "I will."

"Watari," she heard Ryuzaki's voice come over the computer in the room.

"He must be out of cake," she said.

"As a matter of fact, I am," she heard a mumbled response from the room.

Watari sighed. "I suppose I should go. Be safe Noriko."

"You too," she said before turning away as the door began to close. She winced when she remembered the dream she had been having. She never saw it happening, but she was fairly certain that Watari died. Fresh tears appeared in her eyes as she walked to the elevator and she choked them back as best she could.

Walking out of the hotel a minute later and tossing her bag in the trunk of Lisa's car, Noriko tried to recover herself so that Lisa wouldn't worry.

"You had me worried. I thought that maybe they weren't going to let you go or something. I would have gone in there and busted down some doors, but I didn't know...Are you ok?" Lisa asked as Noriko got into the car and stared straight ahead of her.

"Fine," she replied.

"That's not very convincing," Lisa said.

"He was there. It didn't go over very well is all."

"I'm so sorry Noriko."

She shook her head. "It's for the best. I knew I would have to face him eventually. At least it's over now."

"I know what you need," Lisa said suddenly as they were pulling away from the hotel.

"You do," Noriko asked uncertainly.

"Yup. You wanted to change your hair right? A new start, for a new you?"

"Well, yeah, but I have to be back at Reiji's soon don't I?"

"Nope. It's only one. I have four hours to make you into a whole new person and help you forget that jerk."

Noriko groaned inwardly. "I think I'd rather just eat a tube of cookie dough and have a martini like the girls on t.v do after a break up."

"No cookie dough. The martini I can do though," Lisa said cheerily.

"But I'm still underage," Noriko replied.

"A few martini's isn't going to matter. Besides, it's not like you're driving and you're an independent woman."

"I have a very bad feeling about this," Noriko mumbled as Lisa sped towards some unknown destination.

* * *

Please review!


	27. Chapter 27 Center of Attention

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

* * *

**Chapter 27**

**Center of Attention**

"Holy crap," Noriko exclaimed after being whirled around to face her reflection in the full length mirror that had been behind her.

She blinked repeatedly at the girl staring back at her. She would have rubbed her eyes just to be sure it was her because the resemblance was uncanny, but she didn't, knowing that Lisa would just smack her and yell at her for ruining her make up.

She had spent three hours in a rather comfortable red chair in a high class salon in Koen Dori, also know as Park Street, getting a hair cut and even some highlights put into her hair. During that time Lisa had gone to get her dress and shoes so that she could be made up at the salon before going straight to the theater to meet Reiji. Once her hair was done, Noriko was forced to sit still and endure Lisa putting her make up on and snapping at her if she so much as twitched.

"What do you think? You look amazing," Lisa sang in a high pitched squeal.

Noriko winced, so did the reflection that looked like her, but wasn't. Or was it? She raised a hand to twirl one of the curls on the reflection's head and sure enough, she was twirling her own hair.

"Wow," was all she could come up with.

Ken, the stylist who had spiky brown hair and was wearing jeans that had a few rips and a yellow polo with the collar up, was smiling happily behind her, while Lisa looked disappointed by the lack of sheer excitement she was exhibiting.

"That's it? Wow?" She asked disappointedly.

"It hasn't really sunk in yet, alright. But really, wow. I can't believe that's me," she said as she turned slightly to see the back of the dress and more of her hair.

She was dressed in the knee length cocktail dress with the beading and sequin detail in the straps that crisscrossed in the back and wrapped around to go under her chest. The heels Lisa had brought were black and fairly simple, they were strappy stilettos with a four inch heel. Her make up was done nicely, subtle smoky eyes and a hint of red on her lips and pink on her cheeks. Her hair was simply amazing. It had never looked as good as it did at that moment.

There were subtle hints of blond and some reddish brown highlights, nothing drastic, it was actually quite natural looking. For the night, her hair had been curled delicately and pinned in places, making her think of the hairstyles from the 1920's. It was also much shorter than it had been in a very long time, the curls barely passed her chin, she figured when it wasn't curled it would almost reach to her shoulders.

"Wow," she said again as a huge smile spread across her tinted lips.

"I've put a few things into your bag for you. Some hairspray, texturizer and a few other things. You'll be able to do a lot with this style after tonight. You can brush it out and straighten it, add some texturizer to the ends. Pin back the crown section and fluff it a little. Flip out the ends. Lots of versatility," Ken told her.

"Thank you," she said as she kept grinning happily and examining herself in the mirror.

"Ok, time to go. If I don't get you there in fifteen minutes Mr Namikawa will kill me," Lisa said as she grabbed Noriko's bags and then the girl's hand and hauled her out of the building.

"Lisa," Noriko complained, "I didn't pay him."

"Yeah you did, well."

"Huh?"

"Uh, I may have said a little something to Mr Namikawa..."

"You mean a lot of something, and he paid for our little endeavor," Noriko stated.

"Uh, something like that, I don't really remember anymore."

"Of course not," Noriko grumbled.

"Oh, don't spoil the fun. It's not that bad, so he paid for something for you. Again. Get over it, and get on him."

"Lisa!"

"What," the girl asked as she shrugged a shoulder carelessly. "You can't tell me you don't find him attractive."

"Your point?"

"You may have just ended your engagement, but I think if you play your cards right-"

"Oh my god, will you shut up! I can't believe you're saying that. Seriously, how could you even think that? I mean sure he's hot, very, but that doesn't mean anything. I doubt he's even attracted to me anyways," she added as an after thought sticking her bottom lip out in a small pout without really noticing.

"You like him," Lisa exclaimed.

"Not in the way you're thinking," Noriko argued.

"Oh bull, you were pouting because you didn't think he found you attractive."

"I was not."

"You were too! I saw it! Admit it and I swear I'll drop it," Lisa promised.

Noriko huffed in agitation. "Fine," she gave in. "I like him. Happy now?"

Lisa squealed happily. "Yes."

"Good, now drop it."

Lisa smirked and Noriko suddenly became rather afraid, why, she didn't know.

"We're here," Lisa sang, much too cheerily for Noriko's liking.

Her suspicion of the young woman went through the roof and then some. She eyed her cautiously with a half frown.

"What are you planning," she asked.

"Me? Planning something, I would never," Lisa replied in offense, layering on the sweetness in her tone.

"Right, and I didn't hang out with a bunch of detectives for a few weeks or grow up and get engaged to a guy that wants to be one, without picking up a few things. You're lying," Noriko said pointedly.

"Maybe," Lisa chirped as she pulled into a parking spot in a crowded tri-level garage.

Noriko exited the car carefully, the small clutch Lisa had decided to loan her for the night in her hand. It held very little. Her cell phone, lipstick, and face powder and a few other things she had tossed in to it, like her I.D. She walked up to the smiling Lisa and followed the casually dressed girl out of the garage.

"Why aren't you going to this thing," Noriko asked.

"I don't like these kinds of events, and besides it's usually only the higher ups that attend," she replied.

"Oh, so where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to meet Mr Namikawa in front of the theater the dinner's held at. It's just down the way from the museum. Almost there, I know those heels aren't that comfortable, but you'll live," she added when Noriko groaned dramatically.

"I hope so," she grumbled in response.

"Ah, I think I see him," Lisa said as she ducked her head to see around a few people.

"Where?" Noriko asked a little too quickly.

"Just up ahead, come on," she said as she linked her arm with Noriko's and half dragged her to where Reiji stood nonchalantly waiting for them in his well pressed black suit and tie.

"Doesn't he look amazing," Lisa whispered in her ear as they neared him.

"When doesn't he," Noriko replied under her breath.

"True," Lisa replied in a girlish giggle.

"There you two are, I was beginning to think Lisa had stolen you away from me for the night," Reiji said with a smile as he glanced at the two of them, his eyes lingering over Noriko as he took in her appearance and much shorter hair.

"So what do you think Mr Namikawa? Doesn't she look beautiful? And now that she's single, all the men are going to go crazy for her, you'll have to fight them off with a stick," Lisa said with a humongous grin.

Noriko had to seriously resist the urge to elbow the woman in the side at her blunt question and her remark, she settled for turning to her and glaring.

"Breathtaking, as usual though. I like the short hair, it suits her face better. The dress you picked out is very nice on her as well," he said smoothly.

Noriko swallowed and knew she was probably blushing at least ten shades of red. Compliments were something she wasn't really used to from anyone aside from Light, it was weird to be getting them from her boss, especially since he was rather good looking.

"Um, thanks," Noriko replied with a small nervous laugh.

"Shall we," he said as he offered her his arm.

Noriko nodded and took the offered arm, she glanced back at Lisa who was grinning from ear to ear like a cheshire cat. She winked at Noriko, before waving and spinning around and practically skipping off.

'Oh, I'll get her later,' she thought before nearly tripping over a small crack in the sidewalk. She squeaked and stumbled slightly, but was steadied as Reiji put an arm behind her back and placed his other hand on her waist.

"Sorry, I'm such a klutz. I can't even walk barefoot without falling. I swear I could trip on a hair if it-"

"Noriko?"

"Huh," she said as she took a deep breath and stopped ranting to blink up at Reiji. She was a little surprised at just how close he seemed to be, and how much of them was touching. One of his hands was now on her lower back, which was bare thanks to the way the dress was designed and the other was at her waist, which was covered, but she could still feel the warmth of his hand.

"You're rambling."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to, it's just... I'm doing it again, aren't I?" She asked after she saw the small smile on his face and the way his eyebrows tilted up in amusement.

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize, blushing suits you as well."

She felt her face grow warmer than it already was. "Thank you for helping me not fall on my face, that wouldn't have been a fun way to start the night. Plus, Lisa would have killed me if I messed up my make up."

"You're welcome, and as long as I'm at your side I won't let you fall. So don't think about it and just enjoy yourself. You have nothing to worry about."

Noriko nodded, she had nothing to say, and if she had tried it probably would have been jumbled jibberish.

'Is it just me or is his face a little closer than it was five seconds ago?'

She looked up at him, he was taller than her even when she was in heels and she had to tilt her head up slightly.

'Ok, so it wasn't just me. He is closer, a lot closer...He smells like a mix of the ocean and citrus, something more masculine too...What the hell am I thinking?! And why am I still staring into his eyes? I never really noticed the color of his eyes before, they're- Ok enough Noriko! Breathe woman!'

She did as she had commanded herself and took a small breath. 'Damn he smells good... What the hell is wrong with me?!'

"Are you alright," Reiji asked.

She blinked up at him in a daze. "I'm fine, I was just a little lost in thought."

"About what, if you don't mind my asking," he asked as they went back to walking. He took her arm again and led her towards a very well dressed crowd she could see mingling not far ahead.

"About how the hell I'm going to get through tonight without embarrassing myself. Or you for that matter," she said hurriedly. The people in front of her were used to wealth and people who had wealth. She wasn't. She was rather nervous about the fact she had no idea how to act or what to say, or if she should even talk.

"Relax," he said soothingly, his voice was soft and calm. "You'll be fine. Just be yourself."

"Uh huh," she replied nervously as she took in a few deep breaths as they started to walk through the crowd.

She smiled and nodded to the people they met on the way into the theater, keeping polite conversation as best she could. She hadn't realized she was practically holding on to Reiji for dear life through the whole thing until they went to sit down at their white covered table.

"I'm sorry," she said as she released him. "You could have said I was cutting off circulation."

"You were doing no such thing," Reiji replied. "Now just relax, the rest of the night will be fairly boring."

* * *

Light was sitting at his desk in his room, all the lights were off and he was clutching tightly to his hair, nearly ripping it from his skull in his frustration.

'How could she do this to me?! I'm creating a better world. A world without violence and wrong doers, a peace loving world where no one is scared to walk down the street at night. I do it for her and she turns her back on me?! I'll make her see, I'll show her. When this world is no longer rotting, and its citizens are peace loving and rejoice at my name, she will see. I am right, I am just, and I will be god of this new world!' He thought maniacally as a harsh, bitter laugh fell from his lips.

"She will be mine," he said to the darkness. "After L is dead. She will be mine."

* * *

"You weren't kidding when you said that it would be boring. I thought the college entrance ceremony was bad, but that was just...Well boring. I mean was it really necessary for those two people to give the same speech?" Noriko said as she slipped her heels off her feet as they walked into Reiji's house.

"It wasn't the same speech."

"Are you sure? It sounded the same," she said as she plopped onto a chair in the dining room and rubbed at her ankles.

"There were a few different words in there," Reiji replied as he shrugged out of his jacket and placed it over the back of one of the chairs before sitting down himself.

"I must have spaced out then, I sure never heard anything different."

"You did seem rather distant at times, how did seeing your friend go?"

"You mean Lisa didn't actually say anything, what a miracle," she added in a grumble.

Reiji laughed at her comment, but shook his head once. "She did mention that you seemed rather upset and that your ex-fiance had been there."

"So she did say something, no miracles, what a pity," she replied sarcastically. "Yeah, Light was there. It didn't go over so well, he's a bit...possessive. He thinks of me as property, something that belongs to him and that he needs to protect from all the evil in the world. He doesn't seem to realize he's the evil in my world."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I noticed you're not wearing your necklace, I've never seen you without it."

"Oh, I gave it to my friend, Ryuga, it's a sort of good luck charm for me. I figured he needed it more than I do."

"I see. Did you tell your friend where you could be found," Reiji inquired.

Noriko shook her head. "No. To be honest, I don't really want to be found. Then again Light's dad is the chief of police so if he was serious enough it's not like they couldn't find me. Ryuga wouldn't do that though, he knows I want to be left alone and he'll respect my wishes, unless something happens I need to know about."

"What does this Ryuga do?"

"He goes to college out here right now. His father is..was a detective."

"Ahh, you know a lot of those."

"I do. Comes in handy sometimes, but it can also be a big pain in the butt," Noriko replied.

"I'm sure. I'm going to retire for the evening, good night Noriko." Reiji stood from the chair and smiled at her, he then did something so unexpected she almost fell off her chair and to her face. He sopped by her, and tilted her chin up, she blinked in surprise but didn't say anything. "He didn't deserve you, so don't fret over it and rest," he said before kissing her forehead and walking away.

Noriko stared straight ahead of her for a few minutes trying to register what had just happened. It wasn't until she realized she had yet to take another breath that she finally processed everything and blushed.

'That was...cool,' she thought to herself. 'Lisa would be having a field day with that. Which is why I'm not telling her.'

She went to bed a few minutes later, but sleep didn't come quickly. She laid in the bed and stared up at the ceiling for hour as the scene in the hotel room played over and over again in her head.

It had surprised her that Light didn't deny that he was Kira, that he didn't try to convince her it was all a misunderstanding. She was also torn up over the fact he had said it was for her that he was doing everything.

Her eyes closed as she took in a deep breath and tried to calm the thoughts that were flying through her brain. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes when she thought of how they had been, and how she thought things would be in the future. Now she wasn't so sure what to do, she needed to stop Light, but she had no idea how or what to do. She could just tell L, but she knew that without proof there was nothing that could be done. If they tried to find proof it was likely that Light would have found a scapegoat or would have come up with some plan to fool them. Light was smart, he wouldn't be caught unless he wanted to be caught.

Opening her eyes to stare the ceiling again, Noriko sighed and wiped away the tears that were spilling, unwanted, from her green eyes.

* * *

"Did you sleep well," Reiji asked as Noriko walked through the hallway and into the kitchen, she was in a blue silk nightgown that reached her knees and a matching robe that was tied loosely at her waist. Her eyes were puffy and red as if she had been crying and her cheeks were pale.

"I didn't wake you again did I," she asked mildly embarrassed.

"No, which is why I was asking if slept well."

"Not really, to be honest, but I don't remember dreaming for the first time in awhile. It was nice," she said with a yawn as she poured herself a glass of hot coffee and sat down after grabbing a banana nut muffin that was on the counter.

"Do you and Lisa have any plans today?"

Noriko shook her head, her short hair swishing around her face. "No and I really have to get used to that, it's so short," she said as she let her hair swish around her face.

"It looks good on you. Since you have no plans, would you like to join me for dinner later, we haven't had much time to actually talk as friends," Reiji asked.

"I'd love to, it would be nice. No phone ringing, no stacks of papers and not having to eat while I walk or, run really, sounds good. Did you have anywhere in mind so I know what to wear?"

"I've been hearing about a new restaurant in Aoyama, I thought we could go there. It's a bit upscale, but wear whatever you like, we'll be leaving around five," he replied.

"Sounds good. You're going to a brunch this morning right?" She asked as she sipped her coffee and stifled another yawn.

"Unfortunately. You'll have the house to yourself until about two or so, sorry to be leaving you alone, but you look like you could use some more rest anyways," Reiji said.

"Yeah, I had a little trouble falling asleep, too much to think about. I'm still reeling a little from the confrontation with Light yesterday," Noriko replied.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but remember you're better off without him. I should be going or I'm going to be late. Get some more rest, I'll be home in a few hours and we'll find something to do to distract you," he old her as he stood from his seat and stepped around the table, he surprised Noriko by kissing the top of her head lightly and brushing his hand across her cheek. "Don't worry so much, you're not alone you know."

"Thank you," she answered with a small smile as he walked away.

When he was gone, Noriko sighed and rested her head in her hands.

"He seems to like you."

"Gaahh!" Noriko cried, jumping and throwing her hands into the air causing some of her coffee to slop on to the table. "Dad," she asked as she looked up at the man across from her.

"Good guess kiddo. Isn't he a little old for you?" The green eyed man asked as he rested his chin on one of his palms and stared at her.

"He's younger than you, soooo... no," Noriko replied. "And where have you been, I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Sorry about that, but I was a little busy. It seems you have been too," he said snobbishly.

"Hey, I'll have you know I haven't done anything aside from work my ass off and wear heels," she grumbled.

"I know," he replied as he waved her his free hand in the air as if waving away her comment. "I noticed that you gave your necklace to the handsome detective."

"I did, I figured he could use it more than I could. Will it actually do him any good?"

"If he wears it," he answered. "Which he hasn't been."

"I'm going to kill that idiot."

"Isn't that what you're trying to prevent?"

"Yeah, but he doesn't seem to care if he lives or dies and it's frustrating," Noriko replied.

"You can't help those who don't want to be helped," her father chimed.

"Like hell I can't," she mumbled stubbornly.

"So stubborn."

"I am not...Shut up," Noriko muttered as her father's brown eyebrow rose.

"So who's the boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Noriko replied tiredly.

"Yet anyways."

"That's Reiji Namikawa, my boss and the man who's letting me live in his gigantic house for free."

"So you're living with your boss huh? How's that working out for you? "

"Fine," Noriko snapped, "Now what do you want, I'm tired and grumpy if you haven't noticed."

"Just to talk, you've been very stressed out over everything with Light. Not that I can't understand the reasons, but you need to just accept it and move on, you can't do much when your head is stuck in the past. Enjoy your life while you can Noriko, things won't get better unless you let them. Reiji seems like a good, respectable man and the two of you have a connection. That doesn't happen often, I'm not saying to jump right back into a relationship, but at least think about it and then take things at whatever pace you feel comfortable with."

"Are you giving me dating advice," Noriko asked as her face twisted in confusion.

"Yes."

"I'm going to bed," Noriko said as she stood and walked to her bedroom.

"Hey, I was only trying to help," her father cried.

"Yeah well, it's weird. Not many dead dads encourage their daughters to date you know? It's not normal."

"Well we aren't exactly a normal family," he replied as he followed her in to her bedroom.

"No we really aren't. And you, dad, are the least normal of us all," Noriko said as she crawled into bed and pulled the sheets over her head.

"That's mean," he pouted.

"Good night," Noriko called.

"Morning dear, morning."

Noriko sighed exasperatedly and buried her head in the pillow.

When she awoke later in the afternoon, it was almost two o'clock. She yawned and stretched before rubbing her eyes and rising from her bed to stumble into her bathroom. When she walked out nearly an hour later, a towel wrapped around her and color on her cheeks from the hot bath she had taken, all traces of the tired weary girl she had been earlier had been washed away.

She flicked on the radio and hummed and danced to the pop station she had found as she got dressed and did her hair and make up. When she finished, she admired herself in the mirror. She was wearing a pair of black slacks and a red mock neck, sleeveless shirt with frills running down the shirt from the collar to the wide hem that sat on her hips. Her hair hung freely, reaching to just past her chin, it was straight, but she had run some texturizer through it so that it had more volume and the ends were piece-y looking. She had done her make up simply, just the basics of foundation and blush with a little red lip stick and a coat of mascara.

"Good enough for me," she said with a shrug before walking into the bedroom and grabbing a fitted matching black blazer and a pair of pointy toed red heels.

She turned the radio off and wandered out of her room only to nearly collide with Reiji who was coming out of his own room. She squeaked and dropped her shoes on her feet.

"Ow," she complained as she leaned over to pick them up. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Your clumsiness is endearing," he teased.

Noriko snorted and turned around to walk into the living room where she stopped abruptly. Two men were sitting on the couch, glasses of what was likely scotch since that was what the bottle on the table was, in their hands. She recognized both of them, Shingo Mido and Higuchi, both men she had met the day she had run into Reiji after spending the night in the park. Mido she liked, he was respectful and easy to get along with. Higuchi on the other hand disgusted her with his attempts to flirt with her and the way he looked at her.

"Hey Mido," Noriko said jovially while pointedly ignoring Higuchi who was staring at her with a creepy grin on his face.

"Hi Noriko," Mido replied. "Why don't you join us for a drink?"

"I don't drink, but thanks," she replied as she took a seat in one of the leather armchairs a little way from the men as Reiji took a seat in a chair a bit closer to them.

"You look lonely over there, you should come sit by me, I don't bite," Higuchi said to her.

Noriko felt her lips twitch in disgust at the thought of being anywhere near Higuchi. "Thanks for the offer, but not happening," she replied with a fake smile.

"You need to loosen up, you're always so tense when I see you," Higuchi said.

"She always seems relaxed to me," Mido put in.

"That's because I like you Mido," Noriko said as she smiled a real smile at the brown haired man. "You're also cute when you blush," she pointed out as his cheeks turned pink at her comment, this only caused him to swallow and push his glasses up on his nose as Reiji chuckled at him and Higuchi glared at him.

"Are you saying you don't like me?" Higuchi asked trying to sound hurt.

Noriko's smile fell as she turned her eyes on him. "Yup."

"Why is that?"

"Do you really have to ask? I mean seriously are you that stupid, actually don't answer that, I already know the answer," Noriko replied haughtily. "But if you want to know why I don't like you, the reason is simple. I'll explain it so you can understand. You're a greedy, womanizing asshole and if I catch you staring at my ass ever again I'll gouge your eyes out with a spork."

Mido had to choke back laughter or risk spitting his scotch all over himself, he coughed a little after he managed to swallow his drink. Reiji just tweaked an eyebrow, but the look in his eyes told Noriko he was amused by her statement. Higuchi looked rather perturbed and gritted his teeth together.

"What," Noriko asked innocently at the silence her comment received.

"A spork?" Mido asked through his barely contained laughter.

"Well yeah, think about it. A spoon is just too boring, you just dig the eyeball out, no fun, right? A fork is too simple, stick it in his eye and pull the thing out, somewhat fun but just not fun enough. Then there's the spork, a combination of the two, you can't quite dig the eye out, but you can't quite poke it out either. Makes it much more fun," Noriko explained with a serious expression and a few hand gestures.

Mido snorted from trying to not laugh and Reiji was smirking behind the glass he had held to his lips. Higuchi looked frustrated, he apparently wasn't used to being shot down so elegantly.

"Your girlfriend has one hell of a mouth Namikawa," Higuchi grumbled.

"Jealous," Noriko asked before Namikawa could respond.

Higuchi glared at her and she had to resist the urge to start laughing. Mido's mouth just fell open at the implication behind her words as she smiled innocently at Higuchi.

"Why would I be jealous, I don't have to pay my assistants to sleep with me," Higuchi remarked nastily.

Noriko's eyes narrowed and again she spoke before Reiji had the chance. "One, that's not your business. Two, your assistants wouldn't sleep with you if you were the last man on earth, I know, they've told Lisa and I. Three, no woman in her right mind would sleep with you without being paid to do so. Four, Reiji wouldn't have to pay me, or any other woman for that matter, to sleep with him, and yes I'm saying that and I don't give a damn what any of you think," she said as she stood up from the chair and stalked out of the room.

The room was engulfed in a short silence after Noriko's departure, but it wasn't long before Reiji spoke up and suggested that the two gentlemen leave for the evening. Both men did so without complaint, although Higuchi looked pissed off and Mido looked mildly amused.

* * *

Noriko turned her head towards her door at the sound of the two soft knocks, a moment later the door swung open and Reiji walked in to see her lounging on her couch. The curtains to the window were drawn wide and there was a beautiful view of the sun as it began to descend from the red and orange sky.

"Sorry about that, I probably shouldn't have said half of that, but in my defense, he's an ass," Noriko said.

"You spoke your mind, there's nothing to apologize for. Besides, it was rather amusing to see Mido's jaw drop when you stood up for yourself."

Noriko groaned, "Yeah, but I made it sound like, like..."

"Like we're involved?" Reiji asked.

"Sort of."

"And that idea bothers you," he questioned.

Noriko opened her mouth to reply, but cocked her head to the side and scrunched up her nose in thought. "Actually it really doesn't."

"Then what's the problem?"

"The problem is that I embarrassed myself."

"Why do you think that?

"Because I just admitted that I'm attracted to you and that I wouldn't mind the being involved thing," she explained hastily. "And I haven't known you all that long. And you don't really know me and I don't expect you to feel the same or anything. Holy crap this is awkward."

"If I remember correctly, I'm the one who asked you on a date this evening, right?" Reiji asked.

"Well, yeah," she replied lamely.

"That would imply some sort of interest don't you think?"

Noriko blinked at him a few times before turning pink and biting at her bottom lip as she turned her head to look out the window again.

"We have reservations in a half hour we should be going," Reiji said.

"Of course," Noriko replied as she stood from the couch and followed him from her room.

* * *

At the Yagami household Light was staring down at the same blond girl Noriko had seen him with a few days earlier. If the girl had known him better she would have noticed the irritation that was plainly written on his face and in the way he was standing with his hands in his pockets as he spoke to her.

"I'll give you one of my cell phones, that way I can call you everyday and e-mail you too," the blond squealed excitedly.

Light sighed and took the phone the girl handed him.

"So when will you call me," she asked.

"I'll only use this phone when I need to get in touch with you, it will be off the rest of the time. I can't risk L finding out about you Misa," Light explained.

"But when will we talk then," Misa asked sadly, tears forming in the corners of her blue eyes.

"Probably tomorrow since it will be the soonest L can be taken care of," he replied.

"And we can have a love chat after, right," she asked girlishly.

"Misa," Light sighed.

"Yeah?"

She gasped when Light put a hand on her shoulder and leaned forward to place his lips against hers. "Go home ok," he said as he pulled away from her. "And if you talk to Rem outside, make sure no one's around you."

"Ok," she replied in a daze as she followed him out of his room and down the stairs.

'L will die tomorrow, then all I have to do is get rid of Misa since I' not sure she's smart enough to keep her mouth shut and not give us away. Besides she would cause more problems with Noriko, who will be mine as soon as I take over as L and convince her to join me,' Light thought. 'She'll see that I'm right, that I'm creating a better world, and she'll love me for it.'

* * *

"Hair...Snack crumbs...clothing threads...Hmmm, Mr Yagami," Ryuzaki called from where he was crouched, holding little ziploc bags up to the light.

"Yes Ryuzaki," the older man asked.

"If I die in the next few days then your son is Kira. More hair," Ryuzaki said as he continued with what he was doing as if there was nothing strange about his statement.

"What?! You can't be serious," Mr Yagami spluttered. "You always say you don't suspect him while he's here. Just how much do you suspect him?!"

"...Don't know really. The two Kira's joining forces may have affected my ability to think clearly, for if they have truly decided to help one another than I'm in big trouble. It's true that my suspicion of your son is a fairly low percentage and I may just be so insistent due to the lack of any other suspects. However, I have never been wrong before, therefore, if I'm killed assume your son is Kira. Watari will do the same," Ryuzaki explained as he casually sipped at his thick, sugary tea.

"I see," Mr Yagami said in defeat.

"Also, if I die I have asked Watari to contact Nori-san and have her rejoin the investigation," Ryuzaki added.

"The girl has been through enough, don't you think it would be best to leave her be and let her live her life," Mr Yagami asked.

"As much as I would like to do that, I'm afraid that it won't be possible. She may be the only one to prove your son is Kira."

"What makes you think Noriko would prove Light was Kira? They were engaged and have known each other since they were babies," Matsuda asked.

"She knows Light-kun well and picked up on a few things that no one else noticed. His reaction to the mention of Shinigami and eyes in the second Kira's messages, for instance. He nearly pierced her hand, he was so tense. She believes that he reacted that way because he knew what those terms meant, just as she does."

"What do you mean just as she does," Mr Yagami asked.

"I suppose I should say as she believes she does. She thinks that the reference to the Shinigami eyes may be linked to an old story her father told her. Apparently, in this story Shinigami exist and they possess eyes that allow them to see the name and life span of humans," Ryuzaki explained, twisting the conversation he had had with her somewhat.

"You mean she thought it was the truth and that Light reacted that way because he believes in Shinigami," Matsuda asked in confusion. "But how would Shinigami be involved anyway?"

"I have yet to figure that out myself," Ryuzaki mumbled as he picked up a pink glazed donut with two fingers and took a big bite out of the pastry. "Also, if she does rejoin this investigation, whether I'm dead or not I ask that you all protect her from Light-kun."

"Light would never hurt Noriko," Mr Yagami insisted.

"That may be true, but it was obvious she was frightened of him yesterday. I will protect her from him while I'm alive, but there's not much I can do if I'm dead."

"Do you know where she is?" Mr Yagami asked.

"Mmhmm," Ryuzaki managed to mumble over a moth full of donut. "Watari was able to find her place of work as well as where she is currently living. The two of us will keep that information to ourselves however since it seems she doesn't wish to be disturbed."

Mr Yagami looked rather annoyed at this, but said nothing. He cared about Noriko and wanted to get to the bottom of this Kira mess and have Light's name cleared. He hoped that maybe then he and Noriko would be able to work things out and be happy again.

'Tomorrow I will have Misa Amane arrested as the second Kira, the evidence we have found in her apartment is more than enough to prove she had something to do with the tapes at the very least. It seems to have been a good idea to have Mogi follow Light, if he hadn't seen him with Misa we may not have this evidence now,' Ryuzaki thought as he held up another small clear bag. "Cat hair," he mumbled over the donut he was still chewing before setting it down to pick up another.

* * *

Please review!


	28. Chapter 28 Unexpected Changes

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note or the song lyrics near the end, those belong to Sarah McLachlan and her song entitled 'Stupid'

* * *

**Chapter 28**

**Unexpected Changes**

The date went extremely well that night. The food had been delicious, the conversation never dwindled, and Noriko laughed for the first time in quite awhile. It was all in all a very good night. Unfortunately though it was over and work was looming ahead of her in a matter of hours.

Groaning, Noriko pulled the blankets over her head, her mind kept wandering back to what her father had told her earlier. That Ryuzaki wasn't wearing the necklace even though she had asked him not to take it off.

"Stupid jerk," she grumbled under her breath as she flipped over on to her side.

She sighed and closed her eyes, doing her best to push all thoughts out of her mind so she could try and get at least a few hours of sleep before the work day began.

After a few minutes of focusing on her breathing, Noriko began to drift off to sleep. Her body relaxed and all tension drained from her body as absolute darkness engulfed her.

* * *

It was all the same. The same dimly lit room with all the computer monitors and the same scene where she was forced to watch as L had a heart attack and died in front of her eyes as Light smirked in triumph. There was one difference though, at the end. She was shown the room Watari had used as his office. The old man's dead body had lain limply on the cold floor, his glass had fallen off and lay beside his head and one of his arms was raised over his head as if he had been reaching for something. So it was no surprise when she was awoken by Reiji who had heard her agonized screams in response to seeing not only L, but also the kind elderly man's deaths and knowing that Light was responsible for them.

Her eyes flew open as her body jerked into a sitting position, she blinked at Reiji through her watery eyes before letting her head fall onto his shoulder. Her whole body shook as she strained to keep the sobs from exploding from her lips, she clutched her sheets to her chest and clenched her eyes shut hoping to banish the visions of the two dead bodies from her mind.

She barely registered the fact that Reiji had placed an arm around as she leaned against him until she finally managed to regain control over her emotions. She swallowed and took a deep breath before sitting up and looking at the concerned face of the handsome man she now lived with, worked for and as of the previous night, dated.

"Are you alright," he asked.

"Fine," she replied, her voice hoarse and raspy.

"Somehow I think you're lying," Reiji replied with a small smile.

She managed a small chuckle as she wiped a few stray tears from her eyes. "Sorry for waking you again."

"I'm more worried about you than I am about being woken up."

"I'll be alright."

"Would you like me to stay with you for a little while?"

She shook her head. "No, it's ok."

After a giving her an uncertain glance, Reiji stood from her bed and bid her a goodnight and returned to his own room. Once she heard the door to his room across the hall shut quietly she laid back and curled into a fetal position.

"I'll be ok," she mumbled quietly to herself.

She would soon find out she had been wrong.

* * *

It was Monday afternoon and Light walked beside a tall, dark haired woman he had just left class with, talking amicably with her until he saw a familiar figure hunched over on a bench reading a book. A scowl threatened to pull down his lips, but he managed to keep his composure and smiled at the raven haired detective as he looked up from his book.

"Oh, hello Yagami-kun," Ryuzaki greeted, his usual bored tone lilting slightly with fake enthusiasm.

"Hey. I'm sorry Takada, but I'd like to speak with him, I'll talk to you later ok?" Light said as he smiled charmingly at the pretty woman.

"Oh, ok. I'll talk to you later then," the woman, Takada, replied before walking away.

"Are you sure that was ok? You two seemed to be having a private moment," Ryuzaki asked.

"Never mind her," Light replied, his voice taking on a caring tone. "Are you sure you should be out here? I mean, I thought you were thinking of going back into hiding?"

"I figured it would be ok as long as you're not Kira. You are the only one on the outside that knows I am L, besides Nori-san. Because of this, if I am killed within the next few days then the task force, and the other L's, will assume that you are Kira. Did I not tell you," Ryuzaki asked when surprise flitted across Light's face. "I'm not the only one who calls himself L. Anyways, you had said you miss me at school so I thought this would be a change of pace...College is fun after all, if you don't die."

"Yeah, it's been boring without you around. There's no one on my level here," Light replied.

"And what about the brilliant Takada-san?" Ryuzaki asked, his dark eyes studying Light's reaction.

"She's the only one around here who seems to be able to hold a decent conversation," Light answered.

"I see, and what of Nori-san?"

Light gritted his teeth at the way the detective said Noriko's name, he was one of the only people to call her Nori and it was rather frustrating to have Ryuzaki speak of her so familiarly. He also figured that was why Ryuzaki was doing it, to make him angry. "What about her?"

"I would think with how you reacted the other day that you still cared greatly for her, yet you seem to be moving on rather quickly."

"It's not like that Ryuz-Ryuga. I love Noriko, and I plan on explaining things to her," Light replied, his annoyance clear in his tone.

"Shall we get some cake from the cafeteria," Ryuzaki asked, ignoring the comment. He stood up on the bench before stepping down onto the concrete.

Just as they began to walk towards the large building that housed the cafeteria a bubbly, girlish voice from behind them interrupted their trek.

"Hey, Light!!"

Light started slightly at the familiar voice and turned to see that Misa was running right at him, smiling and waving. He had to desperately quell the urge to growl at the girl as she latched on to his arm and batted her eyelashes him. He glanced up to see that Ryuzaki was watching them with a blank look on his face.

'She just has to show up now, stupid girl. What will Ryuzaki think with her hanging all over me,' Light thought angrily as he glared down at Misa.

"I have a shoot near here, so I thought I'd stop by, but I have to be back before two," Misa said excitedly before taking notice of Ryuzaki who was staring at her and Light curiously. "Oh, you must be one of Light's friends. I'm Light's girlfriend, Misa."

'I'm going to kill her,' Light thought to himself as his fist clenched at his side and he looked at her, his irritation clear on his face. 'Right after I say I love Noriko, she has to go and say that.'

"Is that so," Ryuzaki said slowly as he raised his thumb to his lips, partially out of habit and partially to hide the small grin he could feel threatening to break across his face. "I'm Hideki Ryuga."

'What excellent timing,' Ryuzaki thought to himself. 'I just might have to thank Ms Amane later, after I get the necessary information to prove that Light is Kira. You will not win Light Yagami, I will not let you.'

Misa blinked in confusion and was about to speak when Light, rather roughly, spun her around to face him.

"He has the same name as the pop idol, weird isn't it," Light said with a laugh.

"Uh, oh yeah," Misa answered, realizing that the fact that she could see his real name, which didn't match the one he had given, would be strange.

Light glanced over to Ryuzaki, who was now actually grinning unabashedly behind his thumb that was balanced on his lower lip. He hoped that the detective hadn't noticed Misa's odd reaction to his name, he also had to force down a smile. He had won. Misa knew L's real name, and with that he could kill the detective, even control him in the days leading up to his death. He knew he would have to act quickly to keep L from revealing anything about his supposed relationship with Misa to anyone just in case she was ever suspected of being the second Kira. Now all he had to do was get the name from her and write it down, he would use the twenty-three day rule he had discovered during his experiments with the Death Note in order to give himself time to steer all suspicion away from himself as well as find a way to get rid of Misa without him being suspected.

"I've been a big fan since the March issue of Eighteen," Ryuzaki said to Misa, who instantly brightened with the praise.

Before the conversation could continue any further several people crowded around Misa to ask for autographs or pictures of the up and coming model.

Light inwardly cursed as the crowd gathered around Misa, he was impatient, the sooner he could get rid of the detective the sooner he could find Noriko and convince her to come back to him. It would be obvious how much good he was doing once L was out of the way, he knew she would see that.

Misa squeaked when a tall, thin woman suddenly grabbed onto her and dragged her out of the crowd, "You're late," the woman snapped.

"Ah, sorry. I'll call you after work," Misa called to Light as she was pulled away from the crowd.

"Well, I suppose I'll see you in class, we have Psychology together right?" Ryuzaki asked Light.

"Yeah, I'll be right there," Light replied distractedly as the two turned away from each other and walked in opposite directions.

Light pulled a cellphone from his pocket, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, he pressed a few buttons before raising the phone to his ear. The smile faded when the sound of a phone ringing not far behind him reached his ears, he turned to see Ryuzaki pulling Misa's cellphone from his pocket.

"Hello," Ryuzaki said into the phone as he flipped it open.

"That really isn't funny, Ryuzaki," Light said through gritted teeth, walking back towards the detective.

"It seems someone lost it in the crowd," Ryuzaki replied.

"Yeah, it's Misa's I'll give it back to her," Light told him.

Ryuzaki flipped the phone shut, holding the antennae in his fingers he then held the phone out to Light. Just as Light took the phone, Ryuzaki's phone beeped repeatedly.

"Hmm, now it's my phone." He pulled the slim phone from his pocket with his fingers before cocking his head slightly and holding the phone a little ways from his ear. "Yes...Yes...I see, so it's done then?...Good, thank you," Ryuzaki said into the phone before shutting it and returning it to his pocket. "I hate to be the one to tell you this," he began, turning towards Light. "But Misa Amane has just been apprehended as the second Kira. Samples taken from her apartment matched those that were found with the tapes and envelopes sent to Sakura television. The arrest is being kept secret since the announcement would likely cause world wide panic. Her manager has also been arrested on drug charges, that has been kept secret as well."

Light couldn't say anything as he stared, slightly wide eyed, at Ryuzaki. All of his plans shattered before his eyes and he began to wonder just how much Ryuzaki really suspected him now. The phone call he had just made to Misa paired with their odd relationship didn't make things look good for him. It was the first time since

* * *

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights were all the same for Noriko who woke up screaming and crying after being forced to watch Ryuzaki and Watari die. Some nights the dream came more than once and sometimes there were subtle variations in what she saw. For instance tonight, Wednesday night, not only did she witness the deaths of the two men, but she was even shown the shinigami as it wrote their names in a small, secluded room before it suddenly turned into nothing more than a pile of ash. Each night Reiji would wake her and talk to her while she calmed down. It seemed that no matter how frequently she had the nightmares the after effect never changed.

It was currently early Thursday morning and Noriko was leaning against Reiji's shoulder, too tired to hold herself up and too shaken to lie back down. Silent tears rolled down her ashen face and her ragged breathing was slowly evening out while her eyes began to droop shut.

She jerked awake and latched onto Reiji when he tried to lay her back down so she could sleep. She looked at him pleadingly as she held onto his arm. Being alone didn't sound appealing to her at that moment.

Sighing and nodding, Reiji laid beside her and held her to his chest. Sleep found her quickly after that, a deep, restful sleep, it was the first time she had slept so soundly in weeks.

When she blinked her eyes open a few hours later, she was alone in her bed and a quick glance at her clock told her she had been out for almost four hours straight. The alarm sounded a moment later and she hastily smashed the off button as she rose from her bed to prepare for the day ahead.

It was no surprise to her when she finished getting dressed in a pair of simple black slacks and a light blue button up that Reiji was already awake and sipping coffee while he read over the day's newspaper.

"You look a little more rested today," he observed.

Noriko flushed bright red, remembering that she had made him stay with her the night before. "Uh, yeah. Thanks."

"Glad to help," he replied teasingly.

"You didn't have to stay, I wasn't really thinking, I just don't really like being alone after the nightmares even though I say I do," she gushed out quickly.

"Then from now on I'll be sure to remember that."

* * *

When the work day was finally over, Noriko was more than glad to clamber into Reiji's car and head home. The day had been long and trying. Her phone had rung constantly, she barely had anything to eat and she had had to do a bunch of work that wasn't part of her job, but apparently there was a nasty cold going around the office and one out of every ten people were out sick or incapable of doing anything other than sniffling and blowing their noses constantly.

To say she was in a good mood would definitely be a lie. She was starving and tired and it was taking a toll on her attitude. She barely spoke as Reiji drove them through town and grunted when she noticed they weren't heading straight home like she had hoped. At the moment a hot shower and whatever she could put in her mouth without having to worry about cooking first was all she cared about.

"Where are we going," she asked, trying to keep the annoyed edge out of her voice.

"To dinner, I know you had a long day and thought you might prefer to eat out," Reiji replied, he lifted her hand from its spot on her knee and pressed it quickly against his lips.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Noriko manged to say, blushing in embarrassment at her attitude and now feeling badly for having been in such a gloomy and moody state.

The restaurant that they pulled into a few minutes later seemed to be fairly busy and Noriko was rather afraid that getting a table might take awhile, she was too hungry to be patient at the moment. It turned out though that she had nothing to worry about, Reiji pulled up to the valet, who quickly opened her door before stepping around the car to bow to Reiji and then disappear into the car. There was a short wait as they walked through the crowd at the door, but much to Noriko's surprise, and delight, they were seated immediately when Reiji gave his name to the hostess.

"Hanging around with you definitely has its benefits," Noriko commented wryly after the hostess left after sitting them at a table for two in a rather quiet corner near a window that gave a nice view of the long city street and the grand hotel that was just across from it.

Reiji chuckled lightly at her. "Glad to be of service. You seem to be in a slightly better mood."

"Yes well, food has that effect on me after a long day and eating only a donut and a stick of gum. Makes me a little grouchy."

Noriko took a few minutes to glance over the menu before deciding on a nigiri-zushi platter and a bowl of miso soup. She and Reiji talked while they waited for their food, the topics ranging from work to shogi, which Noriko had no clue how to play, but was more than willing to learn. When the food arrived conversation dwindled as Noriko was finally able to put food in her rather unhappy stomach. After she finished, eating everything on her plate and then ordering dessert since she was still somewhat hungry, Noriko sighed happily and leaned back in her seat.

They left the restaurant shortly after and as Noriko was about to step into the car she looked up and froze. Gasping, her eyes widened at what she saw, all she could do was stare blankly across the street. In the alley of the hotel across from her was Watari with two men, each wearing blindfolds and from the looks of it, they were both cuffed as well. Though there was a considerable distance between them she could tell in the dim light that the full moon was providing that one of the men was most likely Light, judging by the hair and build. The other man she only caught a quick glimpse of, but she could see the streaks of gray in the dark hair and knew without a doubt that it was Mr Yagami.

There was a sleek black car waiting a few yards from the door that Watari was leading the two men towards. Its windows were tinted darkly, anyone trying to get a glimpse inside would have better luck attempting to pet a lion in the wild.

"Noriko."

She jumped and glanced down at Reiji who was looking at her curiously as was the young man holding her door open, she blinked several times before smiling.

"Sorry, I thought I recognized someone," she said before stepping into the car. She cast another quick glance towards the alley, but Light and his father had already disappeared from view and Watari was just about to enter the car himself. Looking up at the hotel, Noriko filed the name away for later use.

The ride back home was all but silent as Noriko thought over what she had seen. Not only was she certain that the two had been Light and his father, but she knew that the only reason for Light to be restrained like that would be because L had somehow found proof that he was Kira. Why his father was also restrained and blindfolded as well is what bothered her. There should be no reason to jail his father, Mr Yagami was a kind and very good man. So her mind kept tumbling around possibilities about why he too would be detained.

In the end the only thing she could manage to come up with was that Mr Yagami believed his son to be innocent, like any trusting father would, and had insisted he be detained with Light. The only problem she found with that was that if L had in fact found evidence against Light then why would Mr Yagami go through the trouble of letting himself be arrested as well?

Noriko heaved a sigh and leaned her head back against the cool leather of the seat. Her bright green eyes stared out the window, but saw little as she kept replaying the scene in the alleyway over and over again.

'Will L call me? If he's found proof that Light is Kira, will he tell me? I told him I wanted to know, but would he actually go through the trouble of finding me...Well maybe not finding me, because chances are the jerk already knows where I am and even has my cell phone number. I don't know if he would, he might not since I'm no longer a part of the investigation or Light's life. Well, I'll just have to go and find him, it shouldn't be all that hard. I know the hotel he's in, all I have to do is find out what room, which again shouldn't be difficult. I just have to wait for Matsuda to leave or come in, and I'm sure I can talk him into taking me to Ryuzaki.' Noriko thought to herself.

"Hmm," she hummed as she lifted her head to look out the window only to realize that they had just reached the house. "Oh."

"Are you alright, you've been distracted since we left the restaurant," Reiji asked as he parked the car in the garage and looked over at her.

"It's just that I thought I saw Watari, Ryuzaki's dad, with Light, it just caught me off guard is all. I miss Watari, he's such a nice man and...I dunno really," she finished with a sigh as the dreams came back to her, knowing that Light would ultimately be responsible for Watari's death.

"Do you still have feelings for Light?"

Noriko snorted disgustedly. "No. Not after all that he's done. I mean sure a part of me will always love him, but who he was not who he is. There's no way I could have feelings for a man who...who felt like he owned me and lied to me."

"I see. So what is it that bothers you so much? About seeing this Watari person with Light?" Reiji asked as they both exited the car and made their way into the house.

"I guess you could say it's because Watari is such a good man, and Light is a manipulative, lying bastard, and I don't like him near Watari." Noriko answered, her voice acidic as she mentioned Light's name.

"You must really care for Watari to be so protective," Reiji observed.

"Huh? Oh, well I suppose, it's sort of in my nature to be protective," she said with a small chuckle.

* * *

Light and his father were driven to an unknown location where they were separated before being placed into separate cells. Mr Yagami was allowed to be uncuffed in the cell, while Light was forced to remain in both wrist and ankle restraints.

After being placed in his cell, Light refrained from looking at Ryuk, or giving any indication to the cameras that watched him, that there was another being in the cell with him. He sat on the floor, his eyes staring angrily down at the ground as he ground his teeth together.

While it was true he willingly turned himself over to Ryuzaki and had even gone so far as to ask to be confined, Light was still unhappy. Though he had set things up so that he would eventually be able to resume his work as the God of a new world, he was still upset that he was so close to being caught, or killed, all because of Misa Amane and her carelessness.

It had been three days since the girl had been apprehended and only a few hours since Rem had shown up, threatening to kill him if he didn't save Misa, who had given up ownership of the Death Note, but was still in custody. She had done this to keep herself from talking about Kira, afraid she may unwillingly give L the proof he needed to bring Light to justice.

His only option was to turn himself in. He had arranged it so that it would appear he was Kira when the Kira related deaths stopped upon his confinement. Of course since he couldn't have anyone thinking that he really was Kira, he had also been sure that after two weeks a new Kira would emerge and rid the world of criminals in his absence. This would take suspicion off him, at least temporarily, until he could get the notebook back. As even more proof that he wasn't Kira, he had written a few extra rules in the Death Note. It was inevitable that the notebook would eventually fall into L's hands, and Light had ensured that when it did there would never be a way to connect him to the notebook.

However, that wasn't the only thing that was making him angry. When he had gone to the hotel to turn himself in, Ryuzaki, as usual was sitting in a chair, his knees pulled into his chest as he stared at Light with his big black eyes. The detectives hands though, were sitting on his knees as his fingers twiddled and fidgeted around a dark chain. It wasn't the chain that had caught his attention, it was the black cross with sparkling diamonds and a single ruby that dangled from it.

It was Noriko's necklace.

His plan for turning himself in almost flew out the twentieth story window when he realized what it was. Ryuzaki didn't miss the realization on Light's face or the way his face tensed and his hands clenched at his sides as he struggled to keep a cool, calm composure. Ryuzaki didn't say anything about the necklace in his hands as he watched Light's reaction, he could see the way the young man's nostrils had flared and the sparks of anger and jealousy mixed with a strong possessive look in his eyes. He waited for Light to say something, he was sure the young man would, after all it was the treasured necklace of his dearly loved ex-fiance.

Light had asked, his teeth clenched and the irritation he felt showing in his wavering tone as he asked why he had Noriko's necklace.

The raven haired detective had replied simply. She had given it to him, as a gift for luck, when she had left the investigation.

This seemed to further irritate Light who grunted and looked away from the detective, all the while trying to remain impassive and unaffected. He had managed to take a deep breath and then continue on with his main goal in coming to the hotel to see Ryuzaki, after all he would be taking care of the detective. Eventually that necklace would be his, and he would be sure to give it back to Noriko when he was able to prove he was right and that he was creating a better world, all for her.

He clenched his fists that were cuffed behind his back as he continued to glare frigidly at the cement floor of the tiny cell that would be his home indefinitely.

'I just have to wait and be patient. I will kill L and I will be a God of a new world that I will create. In time I'll get rid of Misa too, she would only be in the way and she's a threat to Noriko with her absurd feelings of love for me. Noriko may be a little hard to convince that I am right, but I know she'll see it. I'd never hurt her, she knows that, all I need to do is convince her I'm right. I'll do whatever it takes to prove it,' Light thought as a manic smile spread across his face.

* * *

Noriko was unable to sleep that night and after spending about two hours tossing and turning in her bed she flung the sheets off of herself and grabbed the blue silk robe that matched the night gown she wore.

She made her way quietly to the kitchen, feeling like a ghost in the flowing silk robe as she walked through the dark house. After making herself a cup of hot tea she retreated into the living room, where she sat on the couch, leaning against the armrest and bringing her knees to her chest so she could look out the window in the back of the room. The bright moon was still high in the clear sky, obscured occasionally by the few thin, wispy clouds that were floating serenely through the deep blue sky.

Sighing, she sipped at her tea and hummed to herself as she stared out the window. After a few minutes she set her tea down and wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her knees closely to her body and resting her chin on one of them. She continued to hum to herself and before long, without realizing it she was singing quietly in the darkness of the living.

"...lift up the shades

And let in the brilliant light of morning

Steady me for now

For I am weak and starving for mercy..."

She returned to humming softly for a few moments before her voice was heard once again.

"But you come around in your time

Speaking of fabulous places, create an oasis

That dries up as soon as you're gone..."

She went back to humming to herself for a few more minutes, singing snippets of the song that had for some reason popped into her head. Her eyelids began to grow heavy and her cheek slowly inched closer to the plush cushions of the couch. Before she even knew it, she was curled up into a ball, fast asleep on the couch.

The dream was different tonight.

She was standing alone in a dark, drafty hall, her shoulders hunched and her arms crossed over her chest to keep warm. Glancing around, she saw nothing at first until a dim light a little way down the hall caught her attention, she walked towards the light, muffled sounds began to float to her ears as she moved closer. She paused a few feet from where the light was coming from, now fully aware that the light was coming out of a cell like room, the metal bars now being visible to her.

Swallowing, she moved forward and stood directly in front of the cell. Though she wasn't surprised, she couldn't help but to gasp at the sight of Light sitting hunched up on the floor, his arms cuffed behind him and his ankles also bound together.

The brown haired man's head snapped up and Noriko took an instinctive step back as his cold eyes found hers and a malicious grin turned up the corners of his perfect lips. She ran into the wall behind her, her palms touching the cold cement surface wishing that she could disappear from Light's intimidating gaze.

"Nori, I love you. Please, you have to understand. I'm making a better world, I'm creating a world free of evil and eradicating all those who would try and ruin our perfect world. Why don't you see it Nori, why don't you see that I'm doing it for you. I want you to be my queen, my goddess, who is always at my side," Light said pleadingly to her, the malicious smile was gone replaced by a sad frown and eyes that were begging for her to understand.

She shook her head and swallowed. "No, this is _your_ world Light, not mine. I would never have asked you to do this. You don't know me well if you think I would."

"It's because of him, isn't it?" He hissed.

"Who," Noriko asked in confusion.

"Ryuzaki, L, whatever you want to call that meddling, annoying freak. You're in love with him aren't you?" He accused, his eyes narrowing and darkening.

"What are you talking about Light? Can't you hear yourself?" Noriko asked on the verge of tears as she stared at the man she used to love in disbelief.

"You gave him your necklace, your father's necklace. For luck? His luck will run out the second I'm out of here."

"No," Noriko whispered, trying desperately to back further into the wall.

"You will see, I'll make sure of it, that what I am doing is right. That I am the justice in this world and I will do whatever it takes to make you see that," Light said, his voice rising with an insane passion.

"No, you will leave me alone. You will leave him alone and you will leave Watari alone. I will never forgive you as it is Light, for what you have done, but so help me, if you hurt either one of them I will kill you myself," Noriko said with a newfound courage. Taking a step away from the wall and she looked defiantly at Light.

"What do you think you can do? I am God!"

"If you are God, then I am the devil and I will stop you. This isn't you, Light, would you really be ok with all that you have done if you could think clearly?" Noriko asked.

"I am me Nori and I will be God of the new world I create and you _will_ be by my side. No matter what, you will, you'll see," Light said, quietly laughing to himself. "You can't protect them Noriko, they will die. I'll show you." He stood up slowly, the cuffs that had restrained him falling to the floor with a clatter.

Noriko's eyes widened and she backed away from the cell as Light pushed the door open without a problem, the lock apparently having been disengaged.

"What are you-"

"Why are you backing away from me," Light cut her off bitterly. "Do you really think I'd hurt you, Noriko? I would never hurt you, I will protect you."

"No Light, please stop," Noriko choked out as he reached for her and pulled her to him in a crushing embrace. She closed her eyes in an attempt to block out the feel of his skin against hers, it was cold and made a shiver run down her spine.

"Open your eyes, Noriko," Light ordered calmly.

She shook her head, unwilling to look at him, afraid of what she would see in his eyes.

"Open them, I already told you I would protect you," Light told her lovingly, carefully he turned her around, but kept her held firmly against his chest.

Her heart was hammering loudly, echoing in her ears as she forced her eyes open. Tears instantly filled the green orbs and she raised a hand to cover her mouth as she let out a small strangled sob.

They were standing in the room that she had been to several times already in her dreams, it was the room that she always saw Watari in. The small computer room the man used as an office. The elderly man was lying on the floor, in the same position Noriko always saw him fall into. She felt her body start to shake as she looked at the kind old man who lie dead on the floor in front of her.

"I knew I was right Light Yagami, you are Kira. I was wrong about one thing though, I never thought Nori-san would see things from your perspective."

Noriko turned her head at the sound of the familiar monotonous voice. L's dark eyes were sad as they focused in on the dead body on the floor, he stepped around Light and Noriko to stand in front of his mentor, his hands thrust into his pockets as he stared at them.

She tried to speak, to shake her head, anything to let him know that she didn't see things from Light's view, but she couldn't move. Silent tears slid from her eyes and she bowed her head, her chin resting over one of Light's arms.

"You have lost L, you will die shortly and I will take over the name of L. With Noriko's help, I will create a new world where Kira is supreme," Light said arrogantly.

"I see," L replid slowly.

Noriko raised her head to meet the detective's eyes. He was staring at her, his gaze filled with so many emotions, despair, anger, loss, and she thought a trace of something deeper, something like the look of someone who had been betrayed by a lover.

"The necklace," Noriko whispered as she noticed that L wasn't wearing the necklace, her necklace, her only way to protect him and he wasn't wearing it.

"Oh, yes, here," he stated absently, reaching his right hand into his pocket.

For a moment everything seemed to progress in slow motion. She saw him pull his hand from his pocket, dragging with it a dark chain attached to which was a black, ruby and diamond encrusted cross. She saw it bounce slowly, hearing every sound the thin chain made before it was drowned out by Light, who was beginning to chuckle behind her as he moved one of his arms. The arm that his watch was on.

"No," Noriko whispered frantically, time seemed to have sped up again. "Why?!" She yelled at L and struggled to break free from Light's grasp. "Why didn't you wear it you fool?" She cried, tears continued to flow from her eyes as she watched L's eyes widen in surprise.

He dropped Noriko's necklace, letting it fall slowly to the ground as he clutched at his chest and his knees buckled.

Noriko finally managed to break free of Light and run to L, she caught his head in her lap as he fell sideways to the ground, his body tense and spasming periodically as his heart tried to break free of his chest. "Why didn't you wear it?" She said as laid a hand on his pale cheek. "Why? It would have protected you, it would have saved you? I didn't want this, I'm so sorry..." She pleaded through her sobs as she bent her head into her chest and shook with the violent strength of the sobs tearing through her as she watched the light leave L's eyes as he stared up at her in shock.

Her body shook fiercely as the light died completely from L's eyes and his eyelids fluttered shut for the last time. She squeezed her eyes shut and hunched over from the weight of the pain in her chest and screamed to try to release some of it.

"Noriko!"

She gasped and her eyes flew open, she could feel the tears that still ran down her cheeks and the hammering of her heart as it tried to make it's way out of her chest. Looking around, she realized she was still in the living room and the moon was a little lower in the sky than it had been when she had first come out.

"Noriko, are you alright?"

Blinking several times to clear her blurry vision, she turned her head towards the sound of Reiji's concerned voice. He was crouched before her, a hand on her shoulder, staring worriedly at her, it had taken him longer than usual to wake her. She had been yelling and crying for several minutes before she had finally opened her eyes.

Noriko took in a long shaky breath before collapsing against him. She didn't speak, she didn't have the energy to as tears continued to leak from her dull, red rimmed eyes. Reiji sensing that she was rather out of it, lifted her carefully from the couch. She barely registered the movement let alone the fact that she wasn't deposited into her own bed, but his. He laid her down carefully before lying back down beside her. All she could do was curl into a tight ball and stare blankly ahead of her as Reiji covered her with his sheets. Even though he didn't do anything to comfort her, feeling it would do little to actually ease the pain the dream she had had so obviously inflicted, Noriko felt more relaxed. As long as she was here, she wasn't in that room, she wasn't watching innocent people die all because Light felt that it was necessary to create a new world. Believing it was all for her made it more difficult to stomach, it made her feel that she was the one stopping L's and Watari's hearts since she wasn't actively doing anything to prevent their deaths.

What she could do, she didn't know. She was still trying to figure that out. In her mind one girl going against a mass murderer wasn't a good idea, but what other choice did she have? She couldn't rejoin the investigation, it would be too hard to see the stares from Light's father and the other officers when she told them she too believed Light was Kira. And what was she supposed to tell them about why? That she had seen him with a Shinigami? That would probably only get her committed.

There was a chance that L would believe her, he had believed her before when she had told him her "theories", maybe he would believe her again. There were still problems though, L would want to know why she was able to see the Shinigami and why she hadn't spoken up sooner about it. She couldn't very well tell him that she was an angel of sorts and so was her father and because of that she was able to see things normal humans couldn't.

At this rate she was going to be committed as soon as she opened her mouth. She would have to find a way to deal with Light on her own, or to at least prove he was Kira and then go to L. Without proof there was nothing L could do,and she wasn't sure how much she could do without risking her neck and having to be closer to Light than she was really comfortable with.

Her thought process began to slow as she listened to Reiji's even breathing, she didn't think he was asleep, she was actually certain he wasn't, she could feel his eyes on her face every few moments. His breathing was so steady though, the only thing at the moment that seemed to keep her from losing control of her emotions completely. Eventually her breathing became normal and slowed as her eyes drifted shut, she tried to fight the need for sleep not wanting to see her friends die again, but it was a battle she lost. Her eyes closed and she fell into a blissful darkness, a darkness so thick that even her nightmares couldn't penetrate it.

* * *

Hours later she awoke to find that she wasn't her own bed, she also didn't care and pulled Reiji's sheets up and held them tightly under her chin. The bed's usual occupant was missing, but judging by the sound of running water, he was most likely in the shower. She felt horrible, her head hurt and her body felt feverish, she blew it off as just a side effect of the nightmare and hoped that the feelings would diminish quickly. Working while feeling as horrible as she did, didn't sound like fun.

"They're going to get worse. The dreams."

"Why," Noriko asked, not bothering to look up when she felt the bed shift as her father sat down beside her.

"You're going to come of age soon."

"Let me guess," Noriko sighed tiredly. "It's going to be like in the books and movies, kid becomes an adult and suddenly has some strange magical powers right?"

"Something like that," her father conceded.

"So cliché," she mumbled to herself.

"Maybe, but you are what you are. No changing that."

"So what exactly is going to happen?"

"It's different for everyone, for you I'm guessing the nightmares will get worse. You will change too, appearance wise. It's a little hard to explain, you're just going to have to wait and see I guess," he said.

"How long will it last, this little transformation?" Noriko asked.

"I'd say a little over a week since your birthday is on the tenth, eight days from today. It will be over on the eleventh no matter what, you just have to get through it until then, I'd suggest staying home for the time being. Some of the...changes...can be quite painful."

"Will I be able to protect them," she asked in a quiet whisper.

Her father heaved a weary sigh and shifted his weight around so that he could brush some of her hair from her face. "I don't know. The future is a rather fickle thing."

* * *

Please review!


	29. Chapter 29 Blossom

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note.

* * *

**Chapter 29**

**Blossom**

Noriko blinked her eyes open and looked around herself in confusion. She was in Reiji's bedroom... in his bed... alone. How she had gotten there was a complete mystery to her, she remembered that she hadn't felt well the night before and after coming home early from work the previous night she had eaten dinner before going to bed. She knew she had had a nightmare that seemed to last forever. She could still recall the mixture of emotions and the pain she was in when she, at one point, was hovering over herself screaming and crying as she writhed around in her bed. The memory of it seemed distant, but very real, which for her nightmares wasn't unusual, but thinking about it sent shivers down her spine.

Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked over at the clock and her eyes widened when she realized it was almost one in the afternoon.

"Why'd he let me sleep so late?" She grumbled as she stood up shakily. Her confusion grew when she noted that she wasn't in the same pajamas she was sure she had put on last night. She was positive she had been wearing her favorite pajamas she had retrieved from the hotel the week before. Black and pink striped cotton bottoms with a black tank top that had pink lace straps. Now she was in a pair of black yoga pants that reached her knees and a black t-shirt. She knew the clothes were hers, but they seemed to fit a little looser than they had the last time she had worn them.

Shaking her head and figuring she was just that tired last night that she had put on different clothes than she thought, she walked to the door of Reiji's room on unsteady legs. This also confused her, she had felt fine last night aside from a small fever, so why did her legs feel as if she hadn't walked in days?

Blowing this off as a side effect of having stayed in bed far too long, she opened the door and slowly walked into the living room, squinting at the sudden brightness of the sun that was beating in through the windows.

"Why didn't you wake me up, it's one in the afternoon?" Noriko asked upon seeing a figure on the couch.

"Noriko, you're awake?"

Noriko stopped abruptly and let her eyes focus on the figure sitting on the couch. "Lisa? What are you doing here and where's Reiji?"

"Mr Namikawa's at work, I'm just here to look after you," Lisa replied slowly, in a tone that implied she should already know all this.

"It's Saturday, why is he at work, and since when do I need a babysitter, I'm going to be eighteen in a few days and it's not like I've ever needed one in the past. On top of that, if he went to work, why didn't he wake me? Was there an emergency meeting or something," she asked, flopping into an armchair.

"It's not Saturday. It's Monday, the twelfth. You've been really sick, Noriko, don't you remember?" Lisa asked worriedly as she gazed at Noriko.

"Ha, funny Lisa. If it were the twelfth than I slept for what...eight days straight and I'm eighteen already, yeah right."

"No really. Check my phone if you don't believe me, Noriko. It's the twelfth... are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. It's you who's gone crazy," Noriko retorted. She reached for Lisa's phone that was on the coffee table in front of them and pushed a button to make the phone light up. "This is some kind of joke right," Noriko asked after staring wide eyed at the phone in her hands. "That's just not possible."

"It's not a joke, Noriko. Do you remember anything?"

"Ummm... Sort of..."

She remembered waking up in Reiji's bed that Friday morning and having a brief conversation with her dad about her 'coming of age.' She knew she went to work and that as the day wore on she could feel her muscles grow feverish and tired as her head began to pound fiercely. She trudged on, ignoring the pain to the best of her ability until she collapsed as she was walking with Lisa to get some tea from the break room. After that everything got hazy. A part of her mind knew that someone had lifted her from Lisa's arms, since she had caught her before she could hit the ground, and had placed her on a rather comfortable couch and covered her with a blanket. There was also bits and pieces of someone carrying her aching and spent body through the building before setting her gently into a soft, cool leather seat. The drive was where things got even fuzzier, she knew that she was in Reiji's car, but that was about all she could register at the time.

When they had gotten back to his house she knew she had somehow managed to get to her own room and even take a quick shower before pulling on her favorite pajamas. What happened after that was all a blur of so many different feelings and sensations that her stomach turned violently as she tried to remember why she couldn't remember the last several days.

"I passed out at work..."

"Yeah and since then you've been pretty out of it. You had us pretty scared. You just wouldn't stop screaming sometimes. Plus you were so pale and you had such a high fever... Even the doctor didn't know what was wrong, but he knew you were in some kind of pain. He gave us sedatives to give to you to keep you from thrashing around too much, he was afraid you might hurt yourself. You also wouldn't sleep well unless you were with Mr Namikawa, that's why you were in his room. You seemed more at ease when he was around, we've been afraid to leave you alone though so I've been staying here. Your fever broke yesterday and you slept peacefully for the first time in the last week," Lisa explained to her.

Noriko finally seemed to notice that the older girl's eyes were shadow by bruises that told her she hadn't been sleeping enough, there was a strange, unrecognizable look in her eyes. She couldn't pinpoint the meaning behind the look, but for some reason Noriko felt as if she had sprouted wings and cat ears as Lisa stared at her.

"Oh..." Noriko said as she blinked several times to let the brief explanation sink in.

"You've been asleep for awhile, are you hungry, thirsty?"

Noriko nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think I'm going to go take a shower and change. I need to let this sink in for a minute or two."

"Ok. I'll make some food and tea. I'll also call Mr Namikawa, he'd like to hear you're up. I've never seen him worried about someone else like that before. He's been pretty different since you showed up, you know. We'll talk about it later though, go clean up, you look like hell," Lisa teased, smiling at Noriko and rising from the sofa.

"I'm sure I do," Noriko replied absently, standing as well and heading back to her room.

Without paying much attention to what she was doing, she grabbed some clean clothes, underwear and a bra, wide legged red yoga pants and a red and white striped tank top, from the dresser and walked into her bathroom. She didn't glance in the mirror once as she turned on the hot water and undressed before stepping under the stream of refreshingly hot water.

She let the hot water massage her stiff muscles, now fully aware of the reasons why they were so stiff. Her body went through the motions of washing her hair and body without much thought. When she finished, a thick fog of steam had settled over the bathroom. She dried off slowly as the bathroom cooled, when she looked at her reflection in the full length mirror she gasped in surprise and dropped the towel in her hands.

There was no doubt that the reflection belonged to her, but there were several things that Noriko found to be wrong with the girl staring back at her. For starters her body seemed leaner, the muscles in her arms, legs and even stomach were tauter than they had ever been. She had always been fairly skinny with more of a tomboyish build, but she had never cared for working out and was content with her body as it was, so this was a bit of a surprise. Her hips looked curvier than she remembered, more womanly than her tomboyish figure had ever allowed.

Even her face seemed different somehow, more womanly, but still innocent, with a slight glow to the skin. She thought she understood why Lisa had been looking at her so strangely earlier. To herself she was barely recognizable, everyone else must have noticed the changes too; They were anything but subtle. Especially when her eyes focused on something she hadn't noticed yet in the foggy mirror.

"Oh my God," she gasped as she turned to the side to make sure she was seeing things right.

She was. Protruding from her under both shoulder blades were a set of shimmering silvery, gray wings. The feathers that made up both appendages glistened in the bright bathroom lights, sending rainbows of color on to the walls.

"Noriko, are you alright? Food's done."

Noriko nearly fell over at the sudden sound of Lisa's worried voice. Her head snapped to the door. "I'm fine, I'll be right out."

"Ok." Lisa replied hesitantly.

Looking back into the mirror, Noriko's breath hitched in her throat. The two silvery wings were gone.

"What the..."

"They aren't always visible and don't worry, normal humans can't see them," another voice said from the other side of the door.

Noriko threw her clothes on and bolted from the bathroom, crashing into her dad in the process. She let out a small cry and wheeled backwards, falling right on to her butt. She blinked up at her dad in confusion, he simply sighed and shook his head at her clumsiness.

"Why are you so solid now? Normally I can't touch you, but you can touch me. Now I can touch you? What the hell is going on dad? Why do I have wings? Why do I look so different... and curvy? Where'd the curves come from?"

"Calm down, Noriko," Kiyoshi soothed, patting his daughter on the head. "There will be plenty of time to explain things later, right now your friend is waiting for you. Don't worry she won't see the wings, they're only visible at certain times or when you want them to be, even then the only way she would be able to see them is if she were dying or already dead."

"Ok fine, but I want some good explanations, I can't remember a damn thing about the last week," she said as she shoved herself up from the floor and walked to the kitchen.

"That would be the sedatives," she heard her dad say while she walked away.

Lisa was already sitting at the table waiting for her, a bowl of rice and some vegetable and tofu stir fry in front of her. Noriko's mouth started watering the second the delicious scent wafted into her nose. Her step quickened and she plopped into the chair across from Lisa, staring at the food with a smile.

"I know how much you like your vegetables and tofu, so here you go, dig in," Lisa told her.

"Ok," Noriko replied more than willing to oblige, she muttered a quick thanks and started eating everything she could. "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I had already eaten, besides I think you'll be able to finish this on your own," Lisa said jokingly as Noriko continued to stuff her face with rice and veggies.

"I didn't think it was possible to be this hungry. So what did I miss exactly?" She asked after swallowing a mouthful of rice and reaching for more.

"Nothing much really. I've been doing what work I could from here and Mr Namikawa goes in everyday as usual. The only thing that's changed is that those Kira killings have stopped, they stopped on the first, but no one really noticed until the weekend. Hasn't been a single questionable heart attack death since then," Lisa replied with a shrug.

Noriko froze, the chopsticks that were just in front of her mouth shaking slightly, causing some of the food to fall back on to her plate. "Since the first?" She asked.

"Yeah, it's weird, they just stopped. No one knows why either, the police say that they haven't caught Kira so they don't understand what's going on. Even L's been silent on the whole thing."

"Weird," Noriko mumbled dazedly as she took another bit of her food.

'So the first was the night that I saw Light and Mr Yagami with Watari. That's when the killings stopped, the day Light was taken into custody. L has to have found proof that Light is Kira, otherwise the killings wouldn't have stopped.' She thought.

"Did I get any personal calls at all," Noriko asked suddenly.

"Um, I don't think so. Your phone is in the living room, but I've been taking all your calls. No one's left any messages," Lisa answered.

"Oh, ok," Noriko replied as she stared down at her food.

'What's going on? Does he have proof or not? If he or Watari haven't called, then I almost don't think so, but... The killings have stopped. I know he is Kira, and I know Light well, he wouldn't stop unless he was caught... Still, something doesn't seem right about all this,' she thought as she solemnly picked at her food and chewed on her bottom lip.

She gasped quietly when a strange realization struck her, she could feel a dark presence, something cold and definitely inhuman, that was somewhere in the city. It's exact location was a mystery to her, but she knew what it was immediately. A shinigami. She could sense a shinigami.

"Noriko, are you alright?" Lisa asked, noticing Noriko gasp and the way her eyes widened before turning to gaze out the window as if she were searching for something only she could see.

"Yeah," she answered, her voice was distant, distracted as she gazed out into the daylight. "It's just strange. There's only one," she said quietly.

"One what?" Lisa asked, watching Noriko curiously, afraid the fever had somehow damaged her friend's mental faculties.

"Oh, uh, just talking to myself sorry," Noriko said with a chuckle and a shake of her head before she went back to eating.

'I know there were two of them, so why can I only sense one? I need to talk to my dad, he might know what's going on. Whether or not he'll tell me is another thing,' Noriko mused. 'It is strange though, when I saw the two shinigami with Light and that girl, I distinctly remember feeling like there was evil there, but I don't sense any danger at the moment. I wonder why that is...'

"So I've missed a whole week of work, huh? Bet you're happy we'll get to go back tomorrow," Noriko commented to Lisa.

"You're only going back if you can convince Mr Namikawa you're really ok. I told you he was really worried, it was kind of weird. He's always struck me as the type who didn't care much about others, but only cared about furthering his own career. Basically, if it didn't benefit him somehow, Mr Namikawa usually didn't care what happened. Then you came along and he's suddenly got feelings, well here anyways, he's fairly normal at the office."

"Really? He's always seemed so kind and giving to me."

"Somehow I think it's only to you, Noriko. He's a good man, don't get me wrong and I like working for him, but he doesn't tend to go out of his way for his employees. More like he's easily annoyed by stupidity and can't stand poorly done work, so he tends to push them hard and expects nothing less than perfection from them. Of course he treats his employees well and we get holiday parties and what not, but it's different with you. He lets you live with him without complaint for crying out loud, and he treats you to dinner often and you even sleep in the same bed."

Noriko blushed furiously. "Hey, I was unconscious! Wasn't I?"

Lisa smirked. "Mostly."

"What did I do?" Noriko asked quickly. "Please tell me I didn't like beg or cry or something?"

"No, I was just teasing you. You had a nightmare and I guess he didn't want to leave you alone, his bed is bigger than yours so he took you into his room with him I guess. I wasn't here for that, I just know that after that you wouldn't sleep without screaming and tossing around unless he was there. You would calm down when I sat with you, but not to the same degree when Mr Namikawa did," Lisa's face lit up with a big smile and her eyes glinted in the light.

"What?" Noriko asked cautiously, scared by the look in the girl's eyes.

"Oh nothing...I just think it's cute. You denied liking him and now you won't sleep unless you're in the same bed."

Noriko groaned dramatically and leaned her head back onto the chair. "I was sick _and_ sedated."

"I don't care."

"Figures," Noriko grumbled grumpily.

The next several hours were spent in the living room, watching the news or talking. Noriko silently wished she could talk to her dad soon, but knew that would have to wait for a little while.

"I'm going to get some hot tea, want some?" Lisa asked as she uncurled her long legs form the sofa and stood up.

"Please," Noriko replied as she turned her attention to the television.

It seemed Lisa had been right about the Kira killings, they had stopped on the first. For eleven days now not a single criminal had died of a heart attack, or in any suspicious way for that matter. Lisa returned after a few moments with a tray that she set on the coffee table. The tray held a black teapot and two black tea cups. After pouring some of the delicious smelling tea into the cups, she handed one to Noriko and took the other for herself.

"What kind of tea is this," Noriko asked as she sniffed at the liquid, it smelled faintly of flowers.

"It's a white rose tea, it's my favorite. I brought some from home, I just can't live without this stuff."

"It smells amazing," Noriko said as she sipped at the beverage. "It's good too."

"Mmhmm," Lisa hummed as she enjoyed her tea and watched the news that had just returned from a commercial break.

It was at that moment that the door leading into the house from the garage opened and Reiji walked in. He shrugged out of his blazer and hung it over a chair in the dining room before making his way into the living room.

"Oh, hello Mr Namikawa, I hope it wasn't too bad of a Monday without me there," Lisa said as she looked up from her tea and smiled.

"It wasn't the best day ever, but don't worry, there's plenty of work for you to do when you return," he replied, Lisa groaned and her smile turned to a frown as his words set in. "It's good to see you awake, how are you feeling, Noriko?" He asked, walking up behind the chair she was huddled in and pressing a hand to her cheek.

"Fine," she squeaked, having been a little surprised by the contact especially when she saw Lisa's grin that she was trying to hide behind her teacup. "I'm fine, I don't exactly remember what happened, but I'm sorry for inconveniencing you and Lisa."

"I'm just glad you're alright," he said as he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

Noriko nearly choked on the tea she was in the process of sipping, and even Lisa was barely able to control the giggles that threatened to consume her at the look on Noriko's face.

"If you ladies will excuse I have a few things I need to do, I'll be in my office," Reiji said as he strolled from the room leaving Noriko as bright red as a tomato and Lisa gasping for breath through the giggles she was still trying to contain.

"Not a word," Noriko demanded as she turned her still red face to Lisa.

"Oh, you're so not getting out of this that easy. He likes you, and you definitely like him. After that, you can't deny it. Your face was priceless," Lisa said finally succumbing to the giggles and laughing happily at Noriko.

"I guess I never told you. We're technically dating," Noriko replied smugly, going back to sipping her tea and watching the t.v..

"You didn't tell me, since when?" Lisa asked eagerly.

"We went on a date the day after that museum thing."

"What happened?"

"We had dinner."

"You're impossible," Lisa sighed exasperatedly.

"Sorry, but there's not much to tell after that. Nothing juicy to report I'm afraid. I'm going to get a muffin, want anything?" Noriko asked, setting her cup on the table and standing from the chair.

"No, I'm fine," Lisa replied, pouting.

Sighing and shaking her head, Noriko made her way to the kitchen and grabbed a banana nut muffin from a platter on the counter and set it on a small plate. Since she liked the treat, Reiji had asked his housekeepers to keep fresh ones around for her to eat, so every few days a platter of muffins and cookies showed up on the counter. Picking at the muffin, she made her way back to the living room, glancing up in time to see a very familiar blond haired girl smiling at her from the television set.

She dropped the plate in her hands and froze, unable to do anything else, she stared at the screen. The plate clattered loudly to the floor, scaring Lisa who looked at her worriedly as her face paled and her hands started to shake in front of her.

"Noriko," Lisa asked in concern, getting up and stepping towards the shaking girl.

She wasn't listening though, her mind was back to the moment the door to Light's room had swung open and she had seen him leaning over _her_. Had seen the two shinigami, the one that floated above Light and the one that had stood protectively behind _her_. Her head was suddenly swimming and she felt as if she were going to be sick when she felt the sense of evil and danger that emanated from within the room. It was then she realized the reason for the lack of danger she sensed from the shinigami in the area.

It wasn't the shinigami that were the threats to her or anyone else. It was the the two people who possessed them. Meaning Light and _her_, _they_ had been threats, _they_ were the reason she had felt a sense of danger in the room.

Noriko stumbled forward, clasping a hand over her mouth as she ran down the hall to her room. Throwing her door open, she ran into her bathroom, slamming the door behind her before leaning over the sink. She heaved for several minutes, but was glad she didn't actually vomit.

'If the danger was coming from them and not the shinigami then what does that mean? I can't sense any danger now, all I sense is the shinigami. If I can't sense any danger, does that mean that Light and that girl are... No, that can't be right. L would never...He wouldn't...Would he...' Her thoughts flew so quickly through her head they made her dizzy and she had to shut her eyes to stop the room from spinning.

It took a few more minutes to calm herself down and stop her stomach for trying to spill its contents. After splashing her face with cool water and drying off, she opened the door to her bathroom, she wasn't surprised to see that both Lisa and Reiji were there. Se had heard them talking and they had even knocked on the door, but she had ignored them.

"Are you alright?" Lisa asked as she rushed towards her.

"I'm fine. I swear," she reiterated when she saw the doubt in Lisa's eyes. "It just surprised me is all. Who was that girl?"

Lisa looked at her, confused by her meaning.

"The blond girl that was on the news," Noriko clarified.

"Oh, Misa Amane?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, who is she? Why was she on the news?" Noriko asked.

Reiji had yet to say anything, he just watched the two as they talked.

"She's a model and actress. I guess her manager was arrested on drug charges like two weeks ago or something. Apparently Misa Misa as she likes to be called, hasn't been seen since then and everyone's wondering why. Why?" Lisa asked curious about why it seemed to matter all.

"That was the girl that was with Light that night before I ran into Reiji and wound up working at Yotsuba. It was just a little bit of a shock was all, I never expected to see her again, especially on the television. I had no idea who she was at the time," Noriko explained.

"Oh, yeah that must have been a little surprising to see her face plastered on the television set," Lisa replied.

"A little. Sorry to have worried you both," Noriko said as she smiled at Lisa and Reiji. "But I really am fine. I promise. On that note, will I get to go to work tomorrow? I'm probably really far behind with so much stuff I'd like to try and get caught up."

"We'll see how you feel in the morning, until then you should just relax and rest," Reiji spoke up.

"Ok," she agreed with a smile.

* * *

The following morning, after several reassurances that she was fine, Noriko finally convinced Reiji to let her go to work, promising that if she felt ill at all she would stop working and go home. She even pointed out that she was well rested since her nightmares had apparently taken a night off and she had gotten somewhere around nine hours of undisturbed sleep. He couldn't argue with that fact since Noriko had slept in his bed with him after he had carried her there when she had past out on the couch after dinner. She had slept soundly, hardly moving at all, but she had snored a little, something he found amusing to tease her about until she had stomped from his room to get ready for work.

Looking at herself in the mirror was still strange, she turned her face from side to side and kept turning around to see her whole body in the mirror. If she had thought it was obvious yesterday that she had become a woman and now possessed a much leaner, agile looking body, it was even more obvious now that she was dressed. She had decided on wearing smoky gray slacks and a silky black shirt under a vest that matched the slacks and pair of shiny black heels. There was no doubt now that she had changed, the outfit seemed to show off every curve she had gained to a degree that she almost felt a little too exposed even though hardly any skin was showing. Given that she had been in pajamas and baggier clothes the changes hadn't been all that noticeable, but there was no ignoring them now.

She turned to look at her back in the mirror, she hadn't seen the wings since the day before, but her father had also told her a little earlier that under normal circumstances they would remain hidden unless she was in need of them. It had yet to be explained to her why that was, but she figured that was going to be up to her to learn on her own.

After brushing out her hair and pulling some of the crown section back and pinning down, she ran some texturizer through it and sprayed it with hairspray. She applied a light coat of foundation and blush, a quick coat of mascara and a small dab of red lip gloss before turning and walking out of the bathroom. Walking in heels seemed so much easier to her all of a sudden and she seemed to be carrying herself with an unusual grace as she made her way to the kitchen where Reiji was waiting for her.

He looked up at her and even she could notice the subtle appreciation in his as she came towards him. His eyes wandered over her body, taking note of the way her hips swayed as she walked and the way her steps were so sure and confident.

Noriko blushed a little and turned her face away from his when he brought his eyes up to meet her own. She knew today was going to be interesting, she had been gone for a week now and she looked like a completely different person. It worried her a little, what she was going to say to explain her sudden transformation into a woman.

Turned out that her worries were misplaced, apparently no one paid much attention to her and few had noticed she had been gone. Of course Lisa noticed and made a comment that whatever cold Noriko had had she would be happy to have. A few others noticed, but for the most part said nothing to her, but she caught the glances from the corner of her eyes and sighed repeatedly.

Even though Lisa worried over her frequently, Noriko felt perfectly fine. She had slept well the night before, and didn't feel the least bit tired or sick. The amount of work she had to catch up on was a little overwhelming, but she worked diligently, running papers to different departments, getting her schedule on track with what Lisa had done for her, and confirming appointments.

By the end of the day, her little desk that was set up behind Lisa's was clean and neat, all her paperwork had been filed or delivered and she was now back on track and up to date. A lot of that was thanks to Lisa who had somehow managed to get most of her work done for her while still doing most of her own.

Lisa had to take Noriko home that night since it seemed one of Reiji's meetings as running late and it would most likely be several hours before he was going to be able to escape. The two girls stopped for dinner at a small, cozy cafe, both were fairly tired from the long day and talked little as they ate. Once Noriko was back at Reiji's she threw on her pajamas and wound up in the living room watching television.

She mainly watched the news, wanting to see if there had been any new information on the Kira case, it seemed there wasn't. Crime rates had begun to rise again in the absence of the mass murderer, but were still nowhere near what they had been before Kira had started to create his own world.

"You can stop staring at me now, I know you're there, dad," Noriko called over her shoulder, her eyes still focused on the television.

"You could sense me, huh? Very good," her dad said with a grin as he walked out of the shadows near the windows to sit besides Noriko on the couch.

Noriko shrugged. "It's a little weird still, being able to sense you and the shinigami. You've been hovering around all day, at first it was a little hard to push to the back of my mind."

"It takes some getting used to," he agreed.

"Yeah, so I'm curious. Why have the killings stopped, I can still sense a shinigami, but no danger."

"The danger wasn't from the shinigami itself."

"I already figured that, that's why I'm confused. The danger was Light and that Misa girl, but I can't sense that like I did when I saw them together," Noriko replied.

"That would be because they are no longer a threat," her father stated.

"Huh? That makes no sense, how could they no longer be a threat?"

"Do you remember me telling you about the Death Notes?"

She nodded and looked up at him, waiting for further explanation.

"Do you remember me saying that they could be given up by the human using them?"

She thought for a moment before her brows drew together and she nodded slowly.

"They have given up ownership of the notebooks that were in their possession," he explained.

"So...Now they aren't a threat? Seems a little too easy," Noriko mused. "And not like Light, he must have been cornered, he wouldn't give up easily."

"You may be right, but right now he doesn't pose any threat to anyone. Don't worry too much Noriko, relax while you can, this isn't over yet," her father replied with a smile before patting her on the head and disappearing as the door to the garage opened.

Noriko turned her head towards the sound of the door for a moment before turning back to watching the news, she squeaked and jumped when her father's face popped up right in front of her.

"He's being a gentleman, right? You're my little girl and if he-"

"Dad," Noriko hissed through clenched teeth. "You're such a pain, now go away."

Her father pouted at her. "Fine, fine, but I'm only concerned about my precious little girl and her-"

"Don't go there," Noriko warned quietly, waving him away. "How was the meeting?" Noriko asked , turning when she heard footsteps coming in her direction.

"A waste of my time. Not a single decision was made," Reiji replied, taking a delicate sip from the glass in his hand that judging by the smell contained some sort of alcohol.

"Sorry to hear that," Noriko said with a smile.

"No matter, it's over for now and I plan on enjoying what's left of my evening. As I recall, you don't know how to play shogi."

"Nope," Noriko answered, shaking her head.

"Would you like to learn?"

"Sure."

Noriko listened as the game was explained and the rules told to her. It was a little confusing, but she managed to grasp the concept and they played a few games. She lost every single one, quickly.

"You know, I'm glad I'm a good loser otherwise the fact that I just lost every game would be a little annoying," Noriko chuckled as they finished up the last game and she sunk back into her chair. "Anyways, I'm going to get a cup of lavender tea, would you like anything?"

"No, thank you," Reiji replied.

"Will you be sleeping in your own room tonight, or mine?" He asked when she returned, sipping the hot tea in her hands delicately.

She coughed a little and turned a light shade of red. "I'll have you know it was never my intention to sleep in your bed. I was sick and sedated, I don't even remember most of the time I was sick. Plus, last night you could have easily placed me in my own room, but you didn't."

"No, I didn't. I suppose that means you're capable of sleeping alone then?" He asked, a smile pulling at his lips as he leaned back and folded his arms over his chest.

"Of course, adult, remember?" She retorted stubbornly, even though a part of her really wasn't comfortable with the idea of being alone. It made her afraid that the nightmares would come back.

"So you'll be sleeping alone then?"

"You're enjoying this."

"Perhaps."

Noriko snorted. "I'm more than capable of sleeping on my own."

"I wasn't implying that you weren't. I was just curious."

"I'll be sleeping in my room. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you with my snoring," Noriko replied.

"I think it's quite cute actually," Reiji stated.

"I'm going to bed," Noriko grumbled as she drifted down the hall to her room.

"Good night Noriko," he called after her.

She grunted in reply and disappeared into her doorway. She slept fairly well, her nightmares didn't haunt her, but the worry over the fact they would kept her tossing and turning often.

* * *

Work was done for the day and Noriko was spinning idly in Lisa's desk chair as she sucked on her bottom lip boredly. Lisa had left over an hour earlier, leaving Noriko to wait for Reiji to finish yet another meeting that was running late. It was times like these she wished she had a car of her own, relying on Reiji or Lisa to get her home was a bit frustrating sometimes.

She used her right foot to turn the chair to and fro as she stared at the ceiling, she had set a rhythmic pattern that was almost relaxing. This continued for several minutes until her foot paused and hung in midair, the chair twirled in a full circle before coming to a quick stop when Noriko slammed her foot down on the ground and bolted upright.

She turned to the window behind Lisa's desk and stared intently out into the oncoming twilight, her eyes darting around the city that was sprawled out for miles around the tall building.

"What was that," she whispered to herself, her eyes continued floating around the city.

A strange sensation had settled in the pit of her stomach, it had been sudden and almost imperceptible but there was some sort of shift in the atmosphere. She could feel a sense of danger again, it was stifling at first, making it hard to breathe, but it faded slightly as she adjust and relaxed to try and pinpoint the location the feeling was coming from. A frown settled over her face when she could only tell it was from somewhere in the east, but that was all. It didn't feel close, she could tell that much as well.

She jumped slightly when the door to the office opened and Reiji walked in, looking rather tired and irritated. They left soon after, both too caught up in their own thoughts to talk much.

She slept alone again that night, but it was anything but a peaceful sleep.

Her nightmares returned with more intensity than they had had ever before.

* * *

She was hunched over Watari's dead body, tears streaming down her face as she turned the man onto his back and folded his hands over his chest. There was a small noise behind her and she turned quickly, standing up and holding her chin high as she watched Light stalk towards her. It went unnoticed by her at first, because it seemed so natural, but a pair of delicate, silvery wings that arced out of her back were open partially, shielding the elderly man's body from Light's eyes. Her eyes narrowed as he neared her and he lifted an open notebook up for her to see.

As the open pages came into view, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. The page was full of names, names she recognized. Reiji, Mido, and most of Yotsuba's high ranking officials were all listed, so was Lisa. It was the names at the very bottom that caught her attention though.

Quillish Wammy, and underneath the name that she somehow knew was Watari's real name was another.

L Lawliet

Suddenly, her heart felt as if it were being squeezed in a vice grip, it missed another beat and she instinctively grasped at her chest, forced to expel most of the oxygen from her lungs. The feeling was so intense and painful that she dropped to her knees, her wings protectively closing around her as she gasped for air.

Though the pain in her chest was nearly enough to blind her, she stood up defiantly and ran from the room. Her feet moved with an unnatural speed and grace as she flew through a dimly lit hallway and into an adjoining room.

Light had somehow beat her to the room, and was standing beside an unknowing L who was staring at a dark computer monitor, his hands grasping his knees so tightly his knuckles were white. The fork that was still dangling from his long fingers suddenly dropped. In the time it took for the fork to fall to the ground, Noriko was beside L as his body tilted sideways and he fell from the chair he was seated in.

She caught him before he could hit the ground and leaned him against her chest, her wings stretching out around them to create a sort of barrier. A pain wracked scream tore through her throat as she touched him, she could feel every erratic beat of his heart reflected in her own. Holding him tighter, she looked down into his eyes that were still alert despite the pain she knew he was in.

"I...was...right.." he managed to say.

Noriko nodded and hunched over his body as the pain in her own increased, she could feel the airways tightening, cutting off all of L's oxygen, she could feel everything he felt, but it seemed to affect her more than him. It was then that something in her mind clicked. She had been too late to save him, but she was able to take the pain away from him. How she did this she didn't know, she just knew that she was.

Another cry of pain tore through her lips and she squeezed her eyes shut as L's heart pounded ferociously in his chest as it struggled to pump blood and oxygen to his body, but was unable to. Noriko could feel L's muscles relaxing slowly as his heart began to grow weaker until finally it stopped altogether.

"...Thank you..." He exhaled quietly as his final breath left his lips.

Noriko's sobs echoed through the silent room as she held L to her, the pain was gone now, replaced by a strange light sensation similar to floating. Gently pacing L's body on to the ground of the large workroom, Noriko stood up slowly, her head bowed into her chest and her silvery wings still around her. She lowered her wings and allowed them to fold over her back, her head rose slightly and she peered at Light from beneath a curtain of bangs. Her eyes were cold and full of anger and angst as tears silent spilled from them. Their color darkened from a bright green to a deep gray with flecks of black whirling around their depths.

"So do you see now?" Light asked arrogantly as he smiled at her.

"I see you're nothing more than a murderer. A murderer that must be dealt with, and it seems I'm the only one who can do it," Noriko replied, her voice was quiet but it carried throughout the whole room as did the threat it contained.

"I had a feeling you might not see things my way," Light sighed before he grinned at her again. "Which is why I have already decided how you would die."

"You can't kill me with your precious notebook, it has no effect on me."

"I already know that, but this does," Light replied as he dropped the black book and pulled a gun from a holster at his sides.

Noriko's eyes widened as he raised the barrel of the gun at her and tightened his finger around the trigger.

"The notebook may not be able to kill you, but you're still only human so a bullet should," he said before his finger pulled the trigger back.

Her body tensed and she brought her arms over her face as her wings encircled her. She knew it would do no good as she heard the whizzing of the bullet as it closed in on her. She closed her eyes in preparation for the blow she knew was coming.

A hand was suddenly on her shoulder, shaking her and her eyes flew open. She gasped when she realized she was back in Reiji's house in her bed as the man sat on the bed beside her, watching her as she took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Are you alright," he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, nodding her head.

"Then I'm going back to bed," he said bluntly as he stood from beside her and walked towards the door.

Noriko blinked after him a little hurt by the comment, he had never been so straight forward before. He paused as he reached her door and looked back at her.

"Are you staying here, alone?"

It took her a moment to register the words before she threw the sheets off of herself and bounded after the long haired man.

* * *

She was up before Reiji, unable to get much sleep after the vivid nightmare. She showered and dressed before going to the kitchen for some hot tea and a muffin. As she picked at the muffin she flicked on the television and watched the news. She managed to catch the end of the weather and right after that the faces of several men appeared on the screen. A few looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place them.

It was when a woman appeared, seated behind the news desk and began to talk that she realized they were all criminals. It seemed that beyond that they had another thing in common. They had all died of heart attacks the previous night and it was thought that Kira had returned from his absence to punish criminals once again.

Noriko's eyes widened and she stopped chewing the bit of muffin that was in her mouth as she stared at the screen as the woman talked. The woman's voice faded away and was replaced by Noriko's racing thoughts.

'The danger I felt yesterday, someone has a Death Note. Is it Light again, or that girl? I don't think so. Only because one of the men that was killed, was only suspected, there was no proof that he committed a crime. Light never killed anyone who wasn't proven guilty, well aside from anyone he though was a threat, but that's different.'

When Reiji walked into the room she managed to swallow and take a swig of tea before greeting him.

"Morning."

"Good morning, you were up early," he replied.

"Couldn't get much sleep after the dream, so I thought I'd grab a bite to eat and watch the news," she answered.

"Anything interesting?"

"It seems that Kira is killing again, but I kind of think this isn't the original Kira."

"What makes you say that?"

"Probably the fact that I spent too much time hanging out with detectives and I'm too suspicious. Other than that though, it would be that one of the men killed wasn't actually convicted of committing the murder he was accused of, he was only a suspect. I know that Kira has, in the past, killed people who weren't criminals, but that was to protect himself, aside from that, he always killed people when there was evidence against them," Noriko explained.

"You've put a lot of thought into this," he commented. "You seem certain that it's a different Kira, not just suspicious."

She nearly choked on the tea she was sipping, she hadn't really thought before speaking and she had made it sound more like she was certain, because she was. "Um, well I wouldn't say that, its just that like I said I hung out with a lot of detectives and cops... and I tend to over thing things."

"Your theory sounds perfectly plausible though."

She shrugged. "Yeah, but it's also weird that there was a two week break in the killings. I wonder why?" She mused.

* * *

The entire day at work Noriko was uneasy and fidgety, she could sense the evil presence again, only much closer than it had been the day before. Her behavior didn't go unnoticed, Lisa noticed the way Noriko would glance around as if she were expecting someone to pop out at her at any moment and the way her smiles seemed too fake. It wasn't until the end of the day when Noriko had gotten a phone call from the president of the company, Reiji was in a meeting and his calls where going to her phone for the time being, and she seemed to grow even more uneasy as she quickly scribbled something down her black planner. Once she had hung up the phone, she just stared at the page she had written on for a moment, until Lisa tapped her on the shoulder.

She squealed and whirled around to see Lisa looking at her like she had lost her mind. "Oh, sorry."

"Are you alright? You've been acting weird all day and what was with the phone call?" Lisa asked.

"Oh, it was the president of the company, he wanted to talk to Reiji, but since he's in a meeting and his phone's off, he called me instead. He just seemed weird, like he was really nervous about something. I don't really know him so maybe that's normal, but anyways he wants Reiji to attend an emergency meeting tomorrow night."

"What's wrong with that?"

Noriko shook her head and frowned. "Nothing, I'm just over thinking things and stressing myself out."

"Ok. Well-Oh, Mr Namikawa, you're meeting's over already?" Lisa said as the man walked into the office.

"Yes. Any calls?"

"Actually, yes," Noriko answered before going on to tell him about the meeting he had for the following night.

"I see, I don't suppose you can take Noriko home tomorrow could you Lisa?"

"Of course. We could have a girls night out actually, it would be fun. If you don't mind of course," Lisa replied.

"Why would I mind? Noriko is free to do what she'd like," Reiji replied smoothly.

"Sounds fun," Noriko said with a smile as Lisa looked pleadingly at her.

"Great," Lisa chirped. "Too bad you're not twenty yet, but oh well, we can still have plenty of fun."

It wasn't long after that the three of them prepared to leave together for the day. Noriko was still ill at ease as they stepped into the elevator and it only grew more intense as they descended towards the underground parking area. She began fidgeting again, her fists clenched and unclenched, she chewed at her bottom lip and constantly shifted position. The sense of danger only increased as they neared the garage. She was so distracted by it that Lisa had to nudge her to get her to leave the elevator when the doors finally slid open to release them. Walking a few steps behind Reiji and Lisa, she was the first to hear the doors to one of the other three elevators slowly slide open. The clicking of her heels slowed before she stopped altogether and stared straight ahead of her as the air around her grew cold. She could hear the sound of footsteps behind her, they were quick and confident, but it was another sound that caused her breath to hitch in her throat. It was barely noticeable, a human's ears would never pick up on the subtle stir of air, a quiet whistling sound that was caused as the air passed by something other than person who was walking towards her, getting closer every second she was unable to turn around.

"Noriko, what are you doing?" Lisa called from a few yards ahead as she turned around to see Noriko frozen to her spot, her fists clenched at her sides.

Reiji stopped walking a few steps ahead of her and turned back just as Noriko slowly turned her head, and then her whole body towards the approaching footsteps.

A gasp escaped her throat as she took a few steps backwards, Noriko stared wide eyed and mouth agape at, not Higuchi who was smirking at her, but the creature behind him that was watching her with its strange bright eyes.

"This girl-" the shinigami began.

'He can't know I can see her,' Noriko thought as she gathered her resolve and courage and lifted her chin proudly. She heard the air behind her groan as it was suddenly disturbed by the two wings that had unfurled from her back to open wide behind her. She stared defiantly at the shinigami, who now seemed stunned to the point of speechlessness, there was also a hint of fear in its eyes too, before shifting her gaze to Higuchi. She eyed him with a look of disgust for a moment until she turned on her heel and stalked gracefully away. By the look on his face he was irritated by the way the shinigami behind him had reacted. He wasn't able to see the wings that had sprouted from Noriko's back, nor did he feel the shift of energy around her that had frightened the shinigami, but didn't bother him at all.

"What about her?" Higuchi grunted once the three people were out of ear shot.

"It was like she could see me."

"That's impossible."

The shinigami gave no response, knowing full well it wasn't, but also knowing that Noriko was a threat to her. Her priority was to do as Light had asked so that Misa would be saved, if she gave away the girl she knew that she wouldn't be able to save Misa. The girl was dangerous and entirely capable of ending her life if she really wanted to. That just didn't suit her plans, she would leave her be, after all it seemed her problem was more with Higuchi than it was with herself, and that was fine by her. She didn't care what befell the human.

* * *

Please review!


	30. Chapter 30 Meetings of Death

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note, if I did I could stop typing this at the top of every chapter I write.

* * *

**Chapter 30**

**Meetings of Death**

-October 8th-

In the four months that had past Noriko had become nearly unrecognizable. Not just her appearance had changed, but her personality and attitude seemed to have changed as well, at least that was how it appeared to those who didn't know her as well as Reiji and Lisa now did. She had become quieter, more observant and thoughtful and somehow she seemed colder too.

She took her usual spot leaning against Reiji's shoulder as she balanced herself on the arm of the leather chair he was sitting in at the the large octagonal meeting table that including her and Reiji, nine people were positioned around. The room was large, with light wooden floors and sleek, shiny dark wood walls.

Reiji was dressed in a black business suit, white shirt and light colored tie, while Noriko was in a knee length black skirt that hugged her hips before flaring out elegantly to flutter around her knees. She wore a matching black blazer over a collared red shirt, a necklace hung around her neck, it was a diamond and ruby necklace in an s shape that had been a gift from Reiji, something that was frequent now that it was well known, even if ignored, that the two were involved. Her shiny red, platform heels clicked quietly together as she sighed and repositioned herself.

"You could always get a chair," Reiji suggested quietly.

"Why, I'll be asked to get tea in a minute anyway and besides, this is much more fun," she replied, flashing him a smile before turning her attention to Takeshi Ooi, Yotsuba's V.P of VT enterprises as he cleared his throat and began the meeting they had all come to attend.

"It seems that we are all here. Let's begin this week's meeting. For the further advancement of Yotsuba group, to make this company the largest in the world...Who should we kill?"

'Always straight to the point,' Noriko thought blandly, staring at the bespectacled bald man, who was leaning forward slightly, his hands clasped together before him on the desk.

"Do we really need to kill someone every week," Mido asked from his chair that was almost directly across from her and Reiji.

Noriko folded her arms over her chest and shifted her attention back to Ooi who was the first to speak. "Don't be soft, Mido, remember we have a connection to Kira."

"Those who lose their nerve will be eliminated by Kira," Masahiko Kida, a tall, thin man with sharp features and glasses said with a slight grin.

"I'm not being a coward, Kida," Mido shot back.

"Well..It wouldn't really be hard to figure out which one of us has a connection to Kira, if you put a little thought into it," Reiji commented.

"I wouldn't do that however, if you value your lives that is," Noriko put in."But I think Mido may be right," Noriko cut in before anyone else had a chance to speak. All eyes turned to her, several weren't pleased with her presence at their meetings. After all she hadn't been invited, she had figured everything out on her own and then barged in to one of the meetings. To say she was angry wouldn't even begin to explain how she had felt, but she had had to swallow her anger and act like a woman who desired nothing more than wealth, regardless of how it was acquired. The only one who hadn't completely bought her act was Reiji, he knew her well enough to know she didn't desire money or power, she barely spent much of her salary as it was. He had never questioned her about her reasons for joining in on the meetings, he figured he had an idea already, but as long as she didn't jeopardize herself, or him, he would leave her be.

"And why do you say that?" Eiichi Takahashi, another Yotsuba vice president asked. He was a short, stocky man with dark brown hair and a mustache.

"The deaths of the business people that would benefit the company are all concentrated on the weekends, someone is bound to notice sooner or later, I did. That's why I'm here, remember? I saw the trend after the meetings started, and the stock started rising, of course the only reason I knew about the meetings and the rise in stock was because of my position as Reiji's assistant, but still, it's not impossible to think someone else would notice," she replied snidely.

"She may be right," Kida said as he leaned forward in his chair to shuffle through some of the papers in front of him. "We may want to try to scatter the deaths throughout the week to make it less obvious."

"The police don't know that Kira can kill in other ways besides heart attacks though, is that really necessary," Reiji asked.

"The police don't know, which is exactly why we should keep it a secret," Kida replied.

"If you concentrate the deaths on the weekends, heart attacks or not, it's likely that L would notice. He's the world's greatest detective for a reason," Noriko stated.

"You make it sound like you know him," Higuchi snorted.

Noriko's lips twitched slightly. "Of course not."

"Anyways, shouldn't we get on with this," Arayoshi Hatori cut in, he was the company's V.P of marketing and not all that bright, Noriko also knew he wasn't that fond of partaking in the weekly meetings and was worried he would do something rash during one of them.

"Yes, back to what we were discussing," Ooi started up again.

Noriko rolled her eyes and stood from her perch on the chair, smoothing out her skirt as she did so. "Tea?" She asked with a quick glance around the room.

"If you didn't want to be a part of the meetings, you shouldn't have barged into one," Higuchi said to her, a grin pulling at his lips.

"I'm still fairly new here, I don't know much about the company's rivals. Besides, even if I did give you a name, whether it was beneficial or not, you wouldn't listen to me and you know it. " she replied bitterly. "And who would get the tea, none of you would belittle yourselves enough to do that. Plus, I know how the task force thinks, I knew three of the people on it, remember? That's only a fraction of the people who were working the case, but they were influential."

"But you're protecting them, wouldn't it be best to let Kira kill them?" Higuchi asked.

"They're innocent, the real Kira wouldn't kill them," she snapped.

"Here we go with that far fetched idea of hers again," Hatori complained.

"It's really not that much of a stretch, I mean when you look at the killings in the past several months, they're not as...What?" Mido asked when several sets of annoyed eyes turned to him in annoyance. "Sorry."

Noriko smiled at Mido for sticking up for her and even put a hand on his shoulder for a moment as she walked passed him to get to the door so she could go and get tea for everyone. She glanced briefly at the shinigami that was hovering behind Higuchi, eying the group of people with a look of disgust.

'She's as disgusted as I am,' Noriko thought as she left the room.

"If you have something to say, shinigami, then say it," Noriko said quietly. She was setting up a tray to take back to the meeting room and could sense the shinigami hovering behind her, watching carefully and deciding whether to speak or not. She decided to speak.

"My name is Rem. Why do you participate in those meetings?" She asked.

Noriko sighed as she arranged nine cups on the tray and turned to fill a large decanter with hot water and tea leaves. "It's the only way to keep an eye on Higuchi and protect Reiji and the others. I can sense that you're not a danger to them, it's him that is. Why did you give the Death Note to a man like that?"

"It was a request," she replied, hovering the center of the brightly lit, white tiled break room.

"From Light?"

"Yes."

"Figured as much, he has a plan to get the notebook back doesn't he?" Noriko asked, still not bothering to look at the shinigami that was watching her.

"I don't know what he is planning, but he agreed to save Misa, she currently has no memories of what she did while she possessed the notebook, and she was in danger of being discovered by L. With his life on the line should something happen to her, he asked me to give the notebook to someone who would use it selfishly, but still have that person kill the criminals."

"I see. He was planning on someone's selfishness to get them caught in the end, if only criminals died it wouldn't be all that easy to track them, but a selfish, greedy person would use the notebook for personal gain. That is where the leads start to come in, find out who the deaths benefit and narrow it down from there. That would allow him to get his hands on the notebook again. It's likely that now that suspicion has been taken off him, even though L isn't likely to pass over the fact that these Kira killings are different, Light is back with the task force. I don't know why you're telling me this, but it makes no difference. I will stop Higuchi, I will stop Light and I will stop Misa, " Noriko informed the shinigami certainly. She carefully pulled the tray off the counter and grasped it with both hands as she made her way down the deserted halls to the meeting room.

"Who the hell are you?!" She heard Hatori shouting as she rounded the corner to the meeting room's entryway.

"Oh no," she mumbled as she saw a very familiar dark haired man fall back onto his butt as he stared up at Hatori and the quieter, Suguru Shimura. "Matsui?" she asked. Taking a step closer, she stared at the back of the man's head and silently hoped that he was carrying the I.D that had his alias on it.

"Noriko, you know him?" Hatori barked at her.

"Well, it's been awhile, but he helped me out a lot during the ordeal with my step father," she replied, not quite lying, but not quite telling the truth, she blinked down at the stunned Matsuda who didn't seem to immediately recognize her.

"N-Noriko?" He asked cautiously.

"Yep. What's up Matsui, what are you doing here," she asked casually, while silently trying to find a way to keep the man alive.

"Ummm, well you see I work for Yoshida productions now and I'm an agent for Misa Misa," he said quickly. Seeing that he needed to do something more, he hurriedly dug out his wallet and a card and held it up for Hatori and Shimura to see.

"Oh, that doesn't explain why you're here though," she said, still staring at him. "Actually just explain that to them, I need to set this tray down before I drop it," she said before brushing past him and into the meeting room, Mido took the tray from her hands, seeing that she was having a hard time keeping it steady.

"You know him," he asked.

"Yeah, and thanks, that thing was heavy," Noriko replied, shaking her hands out. 'Misa Misa, the girl Light was supposed to 'save', why is he her manager? Is it all some sort of set up? But why would L send him in here to spy?...He wouldn't, stupid Matsuda...' She thought.

"What should we do, do you think he over heard anything?" Takahashi asked, his voice was high pitched and worried.

"Lower your voice, it's not like we were discussing anything important," Kida replied calmly.

"He says he's here to promote Misa Amane," Hatori called from the doorway.

"It can't hurt to hear his pitch," Reiji commented after getting a worried glance from Noriko now that Matsuda was being dragged into a smaller room for questioning.

"Hatori, Shimura, take him to another room. We might as well hear what he has to say," Ooi ordered. "Ms Mori, go with them, you seem to know him he might tell you if he over heard anything. I hope you understand the gravity of the situation?"

"Of course," she replied as she looked out the door that Matsuda had been taken through. "If it comes down to it I have no problem having him killed, I like my current position and a little bug won't jeopardize that."

"She's a little scary sometimes, isn't she," Mido remarked after she left the room.

"If we're found out, she goes down with us and she knows that. It seems her instincts when it comes to self preservation are quite high," Kida replied.

* * *

Noriko leaned into the two toned, white and black couch she was on beside Matsuda as he nervously talked about Misa Amane and presented different references and pictures of the girl. She snorted and rolled her eyes when he started talking about how beautiful she was in person.

"Jealous, Mori," Hatori asked.

"Not at all, just surprised that the spineless Matsui I knew is actually working as an agent for a modeling company," she retorted.

'Matsui' looked slightly offended and turned to look at Noriko just as his phone began to ring. She glanced up to Shimura and Hatori who were eying the phone and Matsuda suspiciously. Before Matsuda could reach for the phone, she snatched it off the table and answered it, holding it a little away from her ear.

"Hello?" She asked.

"This isn't Matsui, don't tell me the bum had to switch phone services again," a male voice drawled from the other end.

Noriko's lips twitched into a smile, even though the voice sounded boyish and more like a skater or surfer, she knew who it was. "No, no of course not. He's just an idiot and forgot it at my place, who is this anyway, you sound familiar?"

"It's Asahi, who's this?"

"Oh hey Asahi, it's Noriko, remember me?" She chirped girlishly, Hatori and Shimura exchanged a quick glance before turning back to Noriko.

"Weren't you and Matsui good friends? What's he doing over at your place, his wallet in trouble again?"

"You know him, the man's wallet is always in trouble, he came to ask me for some cash. I gave him a few bucks, it was all I had on me," she replied, there was a short pause on the other end as she assumed L was telling whoever was listening that Matsuda was in trouble.

"So you're home alone then?"

"I'm actually on my way out with a few friends, why what's up?" She replied.

"I was thinking we could get together for a few drinks, you know and hang out."

Noriko bit her lip to keep from laughing, knowing that she was talking to L, who sounded like a teenage skater was just too funny in her head.

"Sorry Asahi, but maybe another time," she replied with a light hearted laugh. "I've gotta go, but I'll tell Matsui you called when I see him."

"Yeah that would be cool, thanks Nori-san," L chimed over the other end before hanging up, she could here the surprised gasps and a shout as the call ended.

'Light must have been there,' she thought, setting the phone back down on the table.

"Asahi called," she said as she looked over Matsuda and leaned back into the couch after setting his phone down on the table.

"Uh, thanks," he replied with a slight blush and rubbing at his neck.

"Yeah sure," she answered disinterestedly. "So shouldn't we have him call Amane?"

"Yeah, give her a call and have her-"

Hatori was cut off when Matsuda's phone rang again. Noriko picked it up and with a single glance at the name, handed the phone to Matsuda. "Speak of the devil and she calls," she replied bitterly.

"You don't seem to like this Misa girl much," Shimura commented.

"Should I? She makes a living posing in front of a camera, how much brains does that require? Women like her give the rest of us a bad image," she replied.

"Has she always been so scary?" Hatori leaned over and asked.

Matsuda swallowed and nodded before chuckling when Noriko turned to stare at him with a raised brow. She grunted as she shoved herself off the couch and made to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going," Hatori asked her.

She turned around to eye him coolly. "Back to Reiji, you three don't really interest me. Besides, that little girl is on her way here isn't she, shouldn't you be going to meet her?"

All three men watched her turn away, her hips swaying in the skirt she wore as she left.

"Well?" Higuchi asked impatiently the second she walked back into the meeting room.

She raised an eyebrow at him before ignoring him completely and walking to Reiji's chair where he was still sitting. Reclaiming her perch on the arm of the chair and folding her arms over her chest, she leaned back and looked around at the seven men who were all waiting for her answer. "What?" She snapped.

"Did he hear anything?" Mido asked.

"I don't think so, and he couldn't have been there long since he wasn't there when I went to get tea. Anyways, that little model should be here soon," she said, the acid in her tone didn't go unnoticed and Reiji placed a hand on her leg, neither caring that the gesture was noticed by everyone in the room.

* * *

Noriko was glad that the little blond in the skimpy pink outfit didn't seem to recognize her when she arrived in the meeting room, ushered in by Matsuda, Hatori and Shimura.

"She is pretty cute in person," Takahashi mused.

"Don't we have bigger problems," Kida stated.

"Hey Matsu, since this is Yotsuba I was given the green light for some special treatment," Misa piped cheerily as she turned to wink at the confused man.

"Huh?"

"Why don't we go to Misa's large place and have a party with tons of models from the agency," she asked in a voice that made Noriko want to wretch. "Oh and she can come to, I don't mind, she's kinda pretty maybe we can get her an agent too," Misa chirped, glancing over at Noriko with a huge smile.

Noriko clenched her teeth together and turned her head away from the blond while several of the meeting's members muttered to each other. It wasn't long before several of them voiced their desire to go, including Reiji.

"Excuse me," Noriko asked a little louder than she had meant to and turned her head to stare down at him.

"I think someone's jealous, Namikawa, maybe you shouldn't go," Ooi commented dryly from their right.

"Nonsense, it's an opportunity to get to know Ms Amane and her manager. Being that I'm in sales, if we're to use her in our commercials, I should go as well," he replied.

Noriko turned away, trying not to seem overly upset, to most of the men here she was just Reiji's assistant, and she was beneath them. "I'm afraid I have to decline the invitation, Lisa and I have plans in the morning. Besides, I'd only be in the way of the fun," she replied with a forced smile, standing from the armrest.

"Are you sure you don't want to go Noriko, we haven't talked in such a long time," Matsuda asked.

"Noriko?" Misa asked, turning to blink at the green eyed girl. "Wait, is she Light's-"

"You don't know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?" Noriko cut in angrily.

"Uh, what did I do," Misa asked in confusion, pouting at Matsuda who was chuckling nervously and scratching at his neck.

There were murmurs of confusion around the meeting table, wondering how it was that the two girls knew each other. Reiji could be heard saying something to Ooi, who made a simple 'oh' in reply.

"Are you serious?" Noriko snapped. All she could do was stare at the girl in disbelief.

"She's definitely not Light's type, Misa Misa is Light's type, right Matsu," Misa asked cheekily.

Noriko set her jaw as Matsuda gulped and stepped towards her, she was eying Misa like a cat eying a mouse. The girl was aggravating, but Noriko knew she had to watch what she said and did. No one was aware that she knew this girl had at one point been the second Kira, even the girl herself apparently didn't know that according to Rem. It needed to appear to be a fight between two jealous women, and that was fine by her if she could punch the smirk off the blond's face.

"Noriko, calm down," he began.

"Screw you, _Matsu_," she mocked. "And either get the little witch out of my sight or you'll be out of a job because when I'm done with her. She won't have any teeth, let alone a heartbeat."

"Oh, she's kinda scary. No wonder Light dumped her," Misa giggled to herself, putting a hand over her painted lips like a teenager who had just given away someone else's secret.

"Noriko, I know-"

"He didn't dump me, or don't you remember me giving him the engagement ring back after I caught him with _you_," Noriko growled pointedly.

"Oh yeah, I love that ring, it's so pretty," Misa replied thoughtfully.

That was enough for Noriko, the thought that Light had given _her_ engagement ring to this airheaded girl, threw her over the edge. Whether he was Kira or not didn't matter at the moment, it was all about the fact that she had loved him and he had loved her, and that ring was their symbol of love. A part of her was always going to love Light, the Light he had been before he became some twisted version of himself and began trying to create a new world.

Noriko flew at Misa, clasping her hand around the girl's thin throat and shoving her into a wall. "He gave you the ring?" She asked through clenched.

"Noriko," Reiji said calmly from behind her as he laid a hand on her shoulder. He was the only one brave enough to go near her.

"Did he," Noriko half-shouted in Misa's face.

"N-No, he won't let Misa wear it. He always has it with him, and he always gets mad at me when I try to put it on."

Pulling her hand from Misa's neck with a disgusted grunt, Noriko swatted Reiji's hand away and stalked from the room.

"Noriko," Matsuda called after her. "I should see if she's alright."

He ran into the hall and was able to catch Noriko before she boarded the elevator.

"What Matsuda?" She snapped heatedly.

"Uh, are you ok? I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. So L's finally catching on to the fact that Kira has something to do with Yotsuba, huh?"

"Yeah, it was Light who noticed," he replied, before swallowing when she glared at him for saying Light's name. "Uh, sorry."

"No problem, just be careful," she said as she noticed that Kida, Mido, Shimura and Reiji were all walking out of the meeting room. "It was nice to see you again Matsui, but if I see that Misa girl I might throttle her."

"I understand. See ya later, Noriko," he replied with a smile before he walked towards the oncoming group to find Misa.

Noticing that Reiji was breaking away from the group of men, Noriko waited for him by the elevator.

"Are you alright," he asked.

"I'll be fine. I didn't mean to snap like that, it was the thought of her with the ring, it really pissed me off."

"I understand. I'm going to have to go with everyone, will you be ok?"

"Of course. I'll probably be in bed when you get home, Lisa is supposed to be over early."

"I'll ride down with you, it'll give us a moment to ourselves," he said to her as the doors behind Noriko slid open.

"I'd like that," she replied with a smile as they entered the elevator. "I have to stop and get my purse, I left it on your desk."

The two made the quick trip to the thirtieth floor and to Reiji's office where Noriko's purse sat on his desk with her car keys. She retrieved them and turned around to see that Reiji was standing very close to her. He lifted a hand to brush across her cheek before burying his fingers in her hair and pulling her towards him. She couldn't help but to smile into the kiss as she set her bag back down beside her so that her hands were free to wrap around his neck. His free hand was placed on the small of her back to pull her to him and deepen the kiss for a moment before he sighed when his phone began to ring.

"They're waiting for you. Go enjoy yourself, just behave," she said with a light laugh.

"I'll see you when I get home," he replied as he dug his phone from his pocket, kissing her one last time before answering the phone and heading for the door.

* * *

"Noriko."

"Hmm," she mumbled as she rolled onto her back and blinked her eyes open to stare up at Reiji who was seated on the bed beside her. With a single look at him she could tell something was wrong, she pushed herself up on her elbows and focused on him. "What happened?"

"We need to talk, why don't you get up and we'll discuss this in the living room."

"Reiji, what's going on," she asked as he stood from the bed.

"Matsui fell off Misa Amane's balcony about an hour ago," he replied.

Noriko's eyes widened. "What?"

"We'll talk in the living room Noriko, I'd like another drink," he said before turning to leave.

Tossing the sheets off herself, she stood up, grabbed her dark blue silk robe from where she had tossed it on one of the two plush chairs in Reiji's room, she threw it on over her pale blue nightgown and hurried after Reiji.

She found him in the living room, an open bottle of sake on the table and two sake cups before him. She raised a brow at the second cup as she took a seat in the arm chair beside the couch.

"So Matsui, is he dead?" She asked worriedly.

"It seems that way. We won't know for sure until tomorrow, if it's in the papers, which since he was Misa Amane's manager I'm sure it will be," Reiji replied as he poured two cups of sake and held one out to her.

She was about to protest, but thought better of it and accepted it. "Yeah probably," she replied as she lifted her glass in thanks before swallowing the liquor. There was a slight burn in her throat, but it wasn't unpleasant, it was actually quite nice and warmed her body.

"But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"I didn't think so," she said as she leaned forward to refill his cup and then her own.

"When you first introduced us at the hotel, you introduced him as Matsuda, a temporary bodyguard. Given the situation you were in I assumed he was also with the N.P.A, would I be right?" He asked.

Noriko nodded. "Yes, he worked for the N.P.A. His name _is_ Matsuda, Matsui is a nickname. I don't really know how he got into managing Misa Amane though, that one is beyond me."

"Did he have any connections to the task force that is looking for Kira?"

She frowned, she didn't know what good lying would do at this point and she trusted Reiji. "He did, but I don't know if he still does, or did anyway. Matsuda was never very bright as I'm sure you've noticed."

"I had, is there anything else?"

Noriko shook her head before drinking the second glass of sake, she hated lying, but she couldn't tell him the truth. That she knew who each of the Kira's were, that she knew L, it would put her, and him, in danger if anyone knew.

"Why don't we go to bed, you must be tired and you have to be up early to go to Okinawa," Reiji said as he set his sake cup down and stood from the couch.

She nodded and set her own cup down before rising from the arm chair, she was a little surprised that even the small amount of sake she had had seemed to have been enough to make her body a bit numb. Her and Reiji walked down the hall to his room, she hadn't slept in her own room since her dreams had started back up after her birthday in June.

She got into the large bed while Reiji went into the bathroom to change.

* * *

-October 12th-

"There's an emergency meeting tonight, it's not necessary for you to go. It's about Eraldo Coil, he apparently contacted Mido this afternoon," Reiji said to Noriko who was currently sitting on the edge of his desk, staring out the window.

"That's the detective Kida found to find L, right? Didn't he go through a lot of trouble to not give himself away?" She asked.

"Apparently Coil is just as good as we expected."

"I suppose it was to be expected, he's supposed to better at finding people than even L. Anyways, Lisa's probably waiting for me so we can go to dinner. I'll see you when you get home," she said as she stepped off his desk, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and left the large office.

'Depending on what happens tonight I may have to call Watari, I can't risk L being found. If this Coil guy is as good as he appears he may just find L, and I can't allow that,' Noriko thought as she walked from the room.

* * *

-October 14th-

Noriko was delivering several documents throughout the building, her shiny dark silver heels clicking on the marble floors as she walked. She was wearing black slacks and a silky dark gray top that tied around the middle. She sighed when she finally dropped off the final packet to the marketing division and turned to make her way back to her and Lisa's office. She stopped abruptly when she overheard a part of a conversation between two of the department's employees.

"..apparently he was in an accident last night. It was on the news and then I heard that his wife called and confirmed it."

"I can't believe it, Hatori's dead?" Someone else asked.

'What?!' Noriko thought as her eyes widened in surprise. 'Hatori's dead?'

Turning away from the conversation she made her way back to the sales division and through the double doors to her and Lisa's office.

"Hey, did you hear?" Lisa asked quietly, a serious look on her face.

Noriko ignored her and headed towards Reiji's office door.

"Wait, Noriko, Mr Ooi and-"

Continuing to ignore Lisa's protests, Noriko opened the door and stepped inside without hesitation. Ooi and Mido turned to look at her as she entered, her heels clicking on the floor as she walked towards where Reiji had risen from his desk to stare at her.

"Is it true?" She asked as she came to a stop by Reiji's desk, she looked at him and only him as she asked.

"What are talking about Noriko?" Reiji asked.

"Hatori. Is it true, is he dead?"

"Yes. It was necessary," Ooi replied with little emotion, but a hint of annoyance.

"Was it really an accident?"

The three men exchanged quick glances and never answered her. She looked between the three and figured she had her answer. "So it wasn't." It wasn't a question.

"Now really isn't the time Noriko," Reiji said.

"He had a family, a wife, kids. What the hell made it necessary to kill him?" Noriko asked angrily.

"That's enough Noriko," Reiji said calmly as he grabbed her by the elbow and began to pull her towards the door. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off, we'll talk about this later."

"I don't need the rest of the day off," she argued as she was led out of his office.

"I'm not asking you to take it off," he replied. "I'm telling you."

"Fine. I apologize for interrupting your meeting. Please excuse me," she said stiffly as she turned away from him after her elbow was released and stalked to her desk to get her purse and keys.

"Noriko, what happened?" Lisa asked in concern after Reiji had returned to his office.

"Nothing you need to worry over Lisa. We just had a slight disagreement and I over reacted. I'm leaving for the day, I'll have my phone if anyone needs anything," she said before quickly leaving the office leaving Lisa to stare after her in confusion.

When she reached her car, she threw her purse on the passenger seat and climbed in, slamming the door behind her. She hit the steering wheel with the palms of her hands before hunching over to rest her forehead on the cool, hard leather.

"I can't do a damn thing and that little outburst could cause a lot of trouble for me. What the hell was I thinking," she scolded herself as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I couldn't even save Hatori, how am I supposed to save anyone else?"

She knew that there was nothing she could have done for Hatori. She had no way of knowing that Higuchi was going to write his name, and without even knowing that, there was no way for her to be around him to even try to save him.

It worried her though, that Higuchi would so easily kill off his own co-workers, not that she was all that surprised. Higuchi was scum and he would do anything for the wealth and status he continuously claimed he didn't want. She knew that if her outburst reached him there was a chance it would put her in danger, having her name written down didn't bother her, it was what would happen when she didn't die.

Raising her head and shoving her keys in the ignition, Noriko drove out of the garage with nowhere in in particular in mind to go. When she stopped nearly an hour later, she was parked in the lot to the same small park her and Light had played in when they were kids. The same park she somehow seemed to wind up whenever something was on her mind. She pulled her keys from the ignition and grabbed her purse.

For what seemed like hours she walked blankly around the park wondering how it was she was supposed to protect people when she didn't even know how to in the first place. She felt useless and horrible for allowing the killings to continue, but she didn't know what else to do. She knew the current Kira was Higuchi, but there was no way to prove it without the Death Note, even then she didn't know if that would be enough. The only way to be sure the Death Note was real would be to use it, but that just wasn't an option. A part of her almost figured L would find a way to use it, most likely on a criminal, but he'd want to know if it were real. If all the mysterious deaths really were all because of a notebook.

Sitting in one of the swings, she stared up at the sky, watching as the birds twittered and frolicked in the air. After a few minutes of this she got up with a sigh and headed back to her car. She had left her cell phone on the seat, not wanting to talk to anyone and to be left alone and by the looks of it leaving it was a good idea. There was a little red light flashing in the upper right corner telling her she had at least one voice message.

There were three. Two from Lisa asking if she really was alright and to call her back when she got the messages. The other was from Reiji simply asking for her to call him when she could.

She grunted as she deleted the last message before pushing a few buttons and calling Lisa back. It was almost five and she would be off soon and since Noriko was in no hurry to go home she figured she'd invite Lisa to dinner.

Not even an hour later, Noriko met Lisa in Shibuya and the two walked around for awhile before deciding to eat at a popular Italian restaurant. Lisa steered clear of bringing up Reiji throughout dinner, something Noriko was grateful for, she didn't know how she'd responded if questioned too much.

By the time she returned home it was nearing nine o'clock and Reiji's car was nowhere to be seen. She figured he was out with Mido and some of the others, after checking her voice mail again, she learned she had assumed correctly.

With nothing better to do, she wound up going to bed earlier than usual, but found that she was extremely tired. She was asleep not long after her head touched the feather pillow and didn't even wake up when Reiji came home several hours later.

* * *

The following morning, she was dressed, in all black, and out of the house before Reiji had even gotten in the shower. She went for coffee and a bite to eat at a little breakfast cafe before going to the Yotsuba building. She got to the elevator just as Lisa was, the red head yawned before seeing Noriko and smiled brightly.

"Where's Mr Namikawa, don't you two usually come in together?" Lisa asked.

"Usually, but I was up early so I got some coffee and breakfast. If he's not here already, he will be soon."

"You're still mad at him?"

"Not really. More like mad at myself for overreacting, it wasn't my place."

"Have you talked to him, I'm sure he'd understand."

Noriko shook her head as they got on the elevator. "No, I haven't seen him yet. He wasn't home when I went to bed and I left before he even woke up."

"You'll be fine. Ready to start our Friday?" Lisa asked with a smile as they left the elevator and walked to their office.

"Not really. There was a lot I didn't get done yesterday."

Over the next eight hours Noriko couldn't be found in the same place for more than a five minute time period. To say she was busy was an understatement. She was swamped. Lunch was a day old muffin she got from one of the break rooms and ate as she ran different reports to every possible floor of the building. When five rolled around she said goodbye to Lisa who was done for the day and flopped into her desk chair and folded her arms over her desk before letting her head drop onto them with a groan. She yawned and kicked off her black pumps, after resting for a few minutes she sighed and flipped through the papers that were still on her desk. Once everything was in order, she set them aside to be dealt with later and put her head back over her arms.

She was on the verge of sleep when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She gasped and snapped her head up to see Reiji looking down at her.

"Oh, sorry, I'm a little tired," Noriko said before turning away and covering her mouth to hide another yawn.

"It was a rather long day," he agreed. "Unfortunately, it's not over just yet."

"Is everyone ready?"

He nodded and held out a hand to help her up from her desk, which she gratefully took. She linked her arm with his as they headed for the door before realizing something was wrong.

"Did you get taller?" She asked in confusion, only to have him laugh at her in response.

"No, you got shorter," he replied.

"Huh," she said before glancing down and realizing she was barefoot. "Shut up," she grumbled as she jogged back to her desk to get her shoes.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Noriko said a few minutes later as they rode alone on the elevator to the nineteenth floor. "I was a little surprised."

"I understand that, but you need to understand how dangerous of a situation we are in. You need to choose your words carefully and not let your emotions get in the way."

"I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

Noriko had to resist the urge to roll her eyes when Ooi opened the meeting with his usual blunt question of who they should kill this week.

"First, we should discuss a few things. Hatori's death to begin with," he said a moment later.

"Frankly, I'm relieved," Reiji commented arrogantly, which earned him a slight glare from Noriko who really would have liked to smack him, but didn't.

"You're relieved that your comrade is dead? What's wrong with you Namikawa," Takahashi asked.

"It was necessary for Kira to show what would happen to any of us if we try to leave these meetings. I was hoping for this ever since Tuesday, when Hatori said he wanted out," Reiji replied.

"He wanted out?" Noriko asked, she had been unaware of that.

"Yes, he had a little meltdown in the middle of the meeting," he answered.

"Oh, in that case I agree with you. It was necessary," Noriko said with a shrug. Trying to keep up the calm, cold exterior she'd built up around this group of men.

"You two are perfect for each other," Takahashi mumbled loudly.

"I believe the meaning behind Hatori's death is clear. Everyone should keep that in mind," Ooi said. "Moving on, we've received a report from Coil."

Noriko read over one of the packets in front of her and Reiji, listening to the conversation that was going on around her. It seemed Coil had no solid facts on L and his whereabouts, everything was speculation. Until the end anyways. That was where he mentioned that L shouldn't be taken lightly and with the concentration of killings that benefited Yotsuba occurring on Fridays and Saturdays, it may be noticed by L if the trend continued.

"You have to be impressed," Mido said. "For Coil to figure out exactly what we were doing. We should spread the killings out throughout the week."

"Didn't I suggest that last time," Noriko asked before rolling her eyes at the annoyed looks she got from Ooi and Higuchi. "If Coil could figure all this out just from figuring out his client was Kida and then investigating Yotsuba, it's safe to say L would do the same, right?"

"We've been very careful about how we've done things. There is no way anyone can figure out that we're connected to Kira," Higuchi replied.

"Coil did, I did and I'm not even a detective. Just because the killings aren't heart attacks doesn't make them completely invisible. When you keep in mind that the stock and profits are-"

Noriko was cut off when Higuchi decided to talk over her. "Even if someone noticed that, there is nothing to link us to the deaths."

"What she's saying is that even though the police and L may not know that it is possible to kill by means other than a heart attack, it would be wise to keep in mind that Yotsuba is benefiting greatly from them. Someone may notice this. She's simply saying to be more careful," Reiji explained.

"Exactly," Noriko replied snappily.

"According to Coil the police have withdrawn from the investigation and L alone is hunting Kira. If we get rid of L then we have nothing to worry about," Kida put in.

"That is true. It may still be best to spread the killings out over the week though. It's better to be safe for now," Mido said.

"Hey, wouldn't it be ok for Kira to just say who he is? The rules for killing are a little unclear, if he explained them himself we would understand all of this better. We'll all follow Kira for the rest of our lives, none of us would betray him now."

"Shimura's right on one thing, Hatori's death ensures that none of us will ever betray Kira," Reiji said.

"It would cause too many problems. If we all knew who Kira was, you could guarantee that at least one of us would be asking him to kill so and so," Kida explained.

"Plus we'd never be able to go against Kira, he would be like a dictator," Mido added.

"Aren't we getting off topic?" Noriko asked Reiji. "I'm tired and want to go home, can't we decide who to kill already?"

"Be patient Noriko," he replied.

She sighed and went back to listening to the conversation, it wasn't long before she tuned everyone out and was lost in her own sleepy little world. A ringing noise brought her back to reality and she looked over to see Reiji taking his phone from his coat pocket. She furrowed a brow when she saw the number was restricted, but paid it no mind as he answered it.

It was hard to cover her surprise when she overheard the garbled voice on the other end proclaiming to be L. She tried to remain disinterested as she listened to the conversation between Reiji and L, who she had a sneaking suspicion was actually Light. The way he spoke, which wasn't as monotonous and disinterested as L, gave him away.

The last thing she heard was 'L' telling Reiji to protect _her_ and keep her safe and that they would talk again soon. Reiji's eyes cornered over to Noriko briefly before he faked saying goodbye to a subordinate and hung up the phone.

"What was that about Namikawa?" Ooi asked.

"It seems one of my subordinates screwed up again and Monday is going to be a pain for Noriko, who'll be fixing it."

"Huh? Why me?"

"Because you gave him the wrong documents."

"Oh," she replied lamely.

"Anyways, lets get back on topic. About the deaths of the E.L.F members and Zenzai, why don't we do this? We give Coil one month to locate L. If in that time period he doesn't find L, then we simply space the deaths out over a period of a few days and kill them. If he does find L then we can just continue the way we are now," Reiji said.

"In other words, focus on finding L for now?" Noriko asked.

"It's not a bad idea," Mido spoke up. "If we can find L there will be no one in our way, but we should act carefully until then."

Both Ooi and Higuchi gave their agreement as well as everyone else sitting around the table.

"The one month wait isn't set in stone," Reiji continued. "If in a month L isn't dead, we'll start the killings again, just more carefully."

"So we'll give Coil one month then?" Ooi asked as he glanced around.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Then this meeting is adjourned," he finished.

"Thank god, I'm so tired," Noriko complained as she rose from the chair and stretched. "So are you finished for the day or are meeting me at home?" She asked Reiji as they left the room.

* * *

"Impressive Light-kun. You not only managed to put a stop to the killings for the time being, but you put Nori-san's life in danger at the same time," Ryuzaki said from behind his thumb that was propped up on his lips.

"What are you talking about?" Light replied.

"You just told him that Nori-san-"

"Stop calling her that," Light snapped.

"Has a connection to L. Whom they want to kill," Ryuzaki finished, ignoring Light's outburst.

"Unless Namikawa is Kira, which is doubtful. He seems too smart do something like call these meetings, he'd probably work alone if he were Kira. I doubt she's in any danger."

"We are currently unaware of their relationship. We know she works with him and as I'm sure you overheard, lives with him as well. Beyond that it's unclear how deep their relationship goes."

"Judging by how she was acting towards him when I was there I'd say they're definitely an item," Matsuda said.

When Light turned to glare at him and Ryuzaki simply stared at him, he chuckled and rubbed at his neck.

"Anyway the killings have been put on hold and we may be able to get information from Namikawa, Nori-san as well since she overheard the conversation. The way the others reacted to her input during the meeting leads me to believe that she isn't welcome at them, it also seems like she wasn't originally included," Ryuzaki stated.

"Yeah, she did make that comment about how she had noticed the rise in profits," Matsuda replied. "But I still don't understand why she would want to be a part of the meetings?"

"Once she found out, she probably had no choice. And knowing Noriko, she's probably trying to figure out who Kira is on her own," Light said. "She was so dead set on finding him before even though the circumstances were a little different I doubt she'd change her mind."

"In which case, shouldn't we get in touch with her and see what she knows?" Matsuda asked.

"That's not a bad idea and I'd really like to see her again, she's changed so much," Light replied.

"Somehow I don't think Nori-san wants to see you again Light-kun, she wasn't too happy with you the last time you met after all," L commented, purposely drawing out his nickname for Noriko just to irritate Light.

"It was a misunderstanding Ryuzaki, you know that already. I only want to know she's okay and happy, is that so wrong?"

"Not at all. I'm just worried that she may try to harm Light-kun, after all she did attack Misa. Too bad we didn't have the cameras installed yet," Ryuzaki mumbled to himself thoughtfully.

"She wouldn't do that," Light replied.

"Hmm, if Light-kun says so."

* * *

Please review!


	31. Chapter 31 Return

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note.

* * *

**Chapter 31**

**Return**

"Let me guess," Noriko said as she plopped down on to the couch beside Reiji after the two got home. He had gotten there before her and was waiting patiently on the couch. "You want to know why L knows me?"

"And why you lied about it."

"Simple. That wasn't L, it was Light. Second, I didn't lie, I just omitted the part about me knowing him. I was only trying to protect him, and you."

"Why is your ex-fiance posing as L?"

"Don't know really," she answered, shrugging. "L must have asked him, or L was going to wait for one of the people mentioned in our little meetings to die, which Light must have disagreed with and then decided to act on his own."

"How involved with L were you Noriko?" Reiji asked.

"I dumped cake batter on him once," she said with a shrug, after getting a lifted brow in response, she continued, "Not much honestly. It wasn't exactly my choice to join the task force in the first place."

"And the reason why you did, the real one?"

"Because L suspected that Light was Kira."

"Does that have anything to do with why you left him?" He asked, seemingly unmoved by her admission.

"It's the other reason, aside from having caught him with Misa, who by the way was suspected of being the second Kira."

"Given that Light is working so closely to L, I would assume he's been cleared. Misa too, it would seem since I'm sure she's somehow working for L, especially since that friend of yours was managing her."

Noriko shook her head. "It's possible, but quite the opposite when it comes down to Light. L is very childish, he doesn't like to lose. That, combined with the fact he's supposedly never been wrong would be more than enough reason for him to keep Light close, no matter the circumstances. Light was arrested in June, on the first, I didn't lie when I said it was him I saw with Watari, it was just that he was cuffed and blindfolded too. After that I was out for a week and the Kira killings stopped for two weeks before starting up again."

"That would have made him seem responsible until the killings resumed, then suspicion would be placed elsewhere. But was he Kira?"

She didn't respond immediately, instead she looked out the window for a moment before sighing. "Yes."

"You know this for certain?" Reiji asked.

She nodded. "Yes. He is the original Kira, Misa is the second Kira. I'm the only one to know it, besides L, but I can't prove it, neither can L apparently, otherwise they would both be dead. As to who the current Kira is, I'm pretty sure I know that as well."

"My money's on Higuchi."

"So is mine," she agreed. "But what do we do now? We can't let any of the others know that L contacted you, or that I know him, I'll be killed, so will you, and I don't particularly like that idea."

"We do as L or whoever says for now, and just sit back and watch what happens."

"You're not angry with me, are you?" Noriko asked. "I know I technically lied, but I didn't have much choice. If anyone knew, I would have been in lots of trouble and it would have put L, you, and quite a few other good people in harm's way. I don't want to be the reason anyone else dies."

"I'm not angry with you, I understand perfectly. But why would you be the reason anyone else died?"

"Light, when I confronted him, he said the reason he became Kira was because of me. Or for me, I guess I should say. He said he was trying to create a better world, all for me, even though I didn't want it."

"It's not your fault, Noriko," he replied softly. "You're not to blame for any of his actions."

"I know, but still it doesn't make me feel all that great."

"I would imagine it wouldn't, but that's enough talk of Kira for tonight. Just be careful Noriko, I know you're protective, but don't do anything rash."

"I'll try, but no promises."

* * *

-October 21st-

A bad feeling began to nag at the back of Noriko's mind as she went through her usual work day. The day was almost over for her and she was finishing off the few things she had left to do so that she could go to dinner with Lisa. Reiji was going to be late at the office and she wasn't fond of being alone in his large house, it got lonely sometimes.

"Almost ready?" Lisa asked from her desk.

"Yeah, just let me finish typing this up and I'll be ready to go," she replied from her desk that was hidden behind an ornate black screen.

"Ok. Hey why don't I meet you at the restaurant. I'll put our names in so we shouldn't have to wait long once you get there."

"Sounds good to me, I should only be a few more minutes. I need Reiji to sign a few things, but they're not too important so I can wait until tomorrow."

"See ya there," Lisa chirped.

Noriko heard the office doors click shut and focused her attention back on the computer screen. She had become a very quick typer over the past several months and her small hands flew over the keyboard. Once done, she re-read what she had written to make sure there were no errors before printing it and sticking it into an envelope that she tossed in the outgoing mail box on Lisa's desk.

As she was putting her purse over her shoulder and slipping her heels back on, the doors to the office opened and she poked her head around the ornate divider to see Reiji walking in, a manila folder in his hands.

"Hey, I was just about to leave to meet Lisa," she told him, stepping towards him. "Did you need anything before I go?"

"No, it seems I'll be later than expected," he replied as he glanced at the folder in his hands. "Enjoy yourself, and don't wait up."

"And don't you work too hard," she teased before placing a hand on his arm and smiling. "I'll see you later."

He nodded at her and returned her smile before they both went their separate ways.

* * *

While Noriko and Lisa were at dinner, Reiji received a phone call, it seemed Coil had sent them some information on Misa Amane and there was to be a meeting as soon as possible. With Noriko gone, he attended alone, he would be able tell her about the contents of the meeting later.

Coil had learned that Misa had been suspected, and secretly questioned as the second Kira. All evidence pointed to the truth of this and it was decided that since there was a chance she may know L they would bring her in for questioning of their own. It was also decided that Coil would join them, it was his job to find L after all, not theirs.

Unfortunately, the next subject of discussion was Noriko. When Misa had been in the office the week before, Noriko's attack on the girl and the fact they seemed to be acquainted in some way was brought up. They wondered if Noriko had been aware of this, and if so why she hadn't spoken of it sooner. After some elaborate words from Reiji, who reminded them that Noriko was already working and living with him when Amane was arrested and had broken ties with the people she knew in the task force long before, there was no way Noriko could have known. Luckily for him, and much to Light's and Ryuzaki's appreciation, everyone easily accepted this after a little thought and debate over the dates.

* * *

"We never thought over that possibility. That they would link Noriko to Misa," Light said. "We need to be more careful or we may just cause a lot of trouble for her."

"Yes, it's a good thing Namikawa is a quick thinker, or we would be in a bit of trouble," Ryuzaki replied.

"Do you think we should call her?" Light asked.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea. We don't want them becoming suspicious of her now, we should wait until we have a more solid plan. She hasn't contacted us so-"

"She can contact us?" Light asked.

"Yes, when she left after your..misunderstanding, Watari gave her a number to call if she was ever in need of anything. She hasn't used that number, so we can assume she is fine and able to handle things on her own."

"But wouldn't it be better to have her working with us?" Matsuda inquired. "She's been taking part in those meetings, maybe she knows who Kira is and how they kill."

"Doubtful," Ryuzaki replied.

"Yeah, if she knew that then we can be sure she would have called Watari. She wouldn't be able to do anything on her own at that point," Light said.

"Light-kun is right, if Nori-san knew any of that, then it's likely that she would have informed us by now. More importantly is the fact that by participating in the meetings she is risking her life to try and gather information. We need to move carefully and keep anyone from suspecting her of being a spy or knowing more than she has told them. She'll call us when she's ready, if we need her before then then we will find a way to get in touch with her," Ryuzaki explained.

"Through Namikawa?" Light asked.

"No her cell phone would probably work better," Ryuzaki replied, munching on a piece of watermelon as Light stared at him angrily.

"You have her cell phone number?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Why didn't I know?"

"Why should you know? Nori-san doesn't wish to speak with you, and you would only cause her problems."

"Dammit Ryuzaki, you're impossible."

"Hmm, it's a step up from weird at least," he mumbled to himself.

* * *

"Getting that report just a few days after Misa shows up, it seems a little odd. Do you think Coil could be working with L?" Noriko asked Reiji while they sat in the living room, the television on in the background. The earlier meeting had just been explained to her in detail, including how she very nearly wound up being a victim of Kira.

"You would have a better idea than I would, but I think it's a possibility," he replied.

Noriko frowned. "I don't know though, I've never heard of Coil and I haven't had anything to do with anyone from the task force in months. I can see L using Misa since he arrested her as the second Kira, but why would he release her?"

"As you said, to use her. You said yourself L doesn't like to lose, but if he was certain as you are that Misa is the second Kira, even without evidence he would use her. What better way to keep on eye on her than to do that?"

"I guess so. It would also explain why Matsuda was managing her. He was just her babysitter," Noriko said.

"Most likely. If Coil is working for L though then we are in more trouble then we thought. We know he suspects Yotsuba and is watching our meetings, that was evident from the phone call last week," Reiji replied.

"Not necessarily. Hatori's death makes it obvious that everyone is being threatened to stay there, L knows that. All he's looking for now is Kira and how Kira kills. Once he gets that, he'll capture Kira and we'll all be fine."

"Well we know you'll be fine anyway," Reiji said. "You know L and it seems that your ex has plans to keep you safe."

"Yeah, but my ex is also the one who told you that he would make sure everyone at the meeting looked like victims. He may be many things, but he's not a liar, usually anyway," she replied with a shrug.

"Yes, I'm sure he'll be happy to keep me alive, it's not like I'm in anyway involved with the woman he's obsessed with," Reiji retorted with a laugh.

"I don't find that funny," Noriko replied dryly. "But I do guarantee you one thing."

"And what is that?" Reiji asked as he watched Noriko gracefully slide off the couch, her dark blue nightgown fluttering down to her knees.

She smiled a knowing smile as she turned towards the hallway to the bedrooms, she paused before entering the dim walkway and turned back. "I won't let you die."

Her words stunned him, she sounded confident, almost cocky when she had spoken. Noriko had changed a lot since he had first met her and this strange confidence she was exuding was oddly comforting.

* * *

Over the next several days Noriko and Reiji worked as they usually would. They both figured that sitting back and letting L find the Kira among them while letting the others believe they were completely devoted to Yotsuba was the best option available to them.

The meeting to determine whether or not Misa was the second Kira and if she knew L's identity with Coil at its head, hadn't gone as well as expected. Even though Noriko and Reiji hadn't taken a part in it, they had been given the details of it by Kida. It seemed Misa had been blindfolded during most of her questioning and L had only ever questioned her over a set of speakers, not in person.

What no one knew was that during a brief bathroom break the shinigami, Rem, who was attached to Higuchi, had approached Misa and touched her with a piece of the Death Note that was in Higuchi's possession. To protect Misa, Rem had done this so that she could tell Misa that she had been the second Kira, and Light the original. Rem also warned her to be wary of the one she stood behind when they returned to the meeting since she was unable to tell her who Kira was. She had also warned her to keep her distance from Noriko, telling her that she was aware that both her and Light had been Kira's and was planning on finding a way to prove this. When Misa had simply asked why she couldn't just write Noriko's name down, it had confused her to learn that the notebooks don't work on everyone. Rem had left the conversation at that and the two had returned to the meeting.

After discovering that Higuchi was Kira, Misa took it upon herself to find a way to get him to confess to what he was doing. Since she still lacked her memories of being the second Kira, but had been given useful information from Rem about the Death Notes, she figured she could come up with a scheme to get Higuchi's confession.

So the following day, Misa e-mailed Higuchi, accepting one of his many offers to take her out. During her film shoot she had managed to convince Moji, her new manager, to let her stop at a nearby hospital to use the bathroom. A friend had met her there and the two had swapped clothes, allowing Misa enough time to sneak past her manager and meet Higuchi at the nearby women's college.

Not long after getting in his car, Misa confessed to being the second Kira. At first Higuchi blew it off, but as soon as Misa made mention of looking up to Kira and that she had moved to Tokyo to find and marry Kira, his attitude changed. She had managed to have Rem kill someone in order to prove that she really was the second Kira. After that she managed to capture him on the recorder of her phone flat out saying he was Kira and promising to stop the killing of criminals for three days, as Misa had asked, to prove that he was really Kira.

She took the confession back to the task force headquarters and presented it to everyone happily. With a confession, but no idea how Kira killed, it was decided that they would draw him out and force him into a situation where he would have to show them how he killed. Of course this meant putting someone in a very dangerous spot if anything should go wrong with their plan.

* * *

-October 28th-

Noriko stared out the window to her left and bit at her lip as she flicked a pen around between her fingers. For several days she had had a strange feeling, she just couldn't figure out why. It wasn't threatening, but it was far from a friendly feeling. She sighed and stood up, no longer able to concentrate on her work.

"I'm going to go get some tea, I can't concentrate today, would you like anything Lisa?"

"No thank you."

After getting herself a glass of hot tea and going back to her desk, she spent the rest of the afternoon staring blankly out the window.

"Noriko!"

Lisa's voice brought her out of her trance like state and she blinked several times to moisten her now dry eyes as she turned to face the red head who was looking at her as if she lost her mind.

"Sorry, what Lisa?"

"I was asking if you wanted to go and get dinner tonight."

"She won't be able to I'm afraid," Reiji said from behind them as he walked out of his office.

"I won't?" She asked, confused.

"I'm actually done early for once and thought it would be nice to have dinner together, it's been awhile."

Lisa was grinning from ear to ear at the news, she turned to Noriko and winked. "Well, never mind then. Have fun!" She squeaked in a girly laugh before nearly skipping out of the office.

Noriko watched her go with a raised brow, even though she was aware of the relationship between them, because she tortured Noriko for details on everything, she was still ecstatic every time she learned they were going out.

"She must have been a cheerleader in high school, otherwise I don't see how she could be so happy all the time," Noriko commented with a shake of her head. "Anyways, dinner would be great, I haven't been able to focus all day, maybe food will help."

"It'll give you something to focus on at least."

"Hey there's nothing wrong with having a healthy appetite."

"You call your appetite healthy?"

She opened her mouth to respond before closing it, frowning and shrugging. "Ok maybe not, but that's not the point. The point is...Actually I have no idea, what was the point?"

"Get your things," Reiji told her with a laugh.

"Ah, right."

They took Reiji's car to dinner, but returned to get Noriko's on the way back home. they usually came in around the same time, but Reiji had a meeting early the following morning so Noriko would need her car to get to work, unless she wanted to be an hour early, which she didn't.

It was on the drive home that she received a call from Reiji, who was only a few cars ahead of her on the highway. She was a little confused, but answered.

"Hello?"

"Mido just called me, he wants to have a little meeting it seems."

"Ok, about what?"

"We'll see when we get there, although I have a guess."

"Kira?"

"Most likely, follow me, his house isn't far."

"Alright, see you then I guess."

She hung up her phone and started nibbling on her lip, which was beginning to get a bit sore from the abuse she had put it through that day. The feeling she had had all day and the last few days as well, was at the forefront of her mind again. She knew that without a doubt something was going to happen, what, or when, she didn't know, but she didn't think it was good.

When she pulled through Mido's gates behind Reiji and parked beside him on the long driveway in front of the English style house, the feeling only got worse. She looked up at Mido's house as she stepped out of her car ad her brows knitted together. She made her way up next to Reiji and looped her arm into his, he glanced at her oddly, but didn't say anything as they walked up to the front door that was already open with Mido waiting for them.

Releasing Reiji's arm so he could take off his blazer and she could sit down on the brown couch with him, Noriko looked from Mido to Shimura who was also there and back to Reiji.

"So what's with this meeting?" Reiji asked as he made himself comfortable on Mido's couch.

"Namikawa...Who do you think Kira is?" Shimura asked.

"It could be you or Mido, why ask that?" He replied casually.

"It's not me," Mido said. "And it's not Shimura, he called me complaining that he didn't want anything to do with the meetings and Kira's evil plans anymore."

"Well, it must not be Mido, or you'd be dead," Reiji pointed out.

"It's not you or Mido. Even I know that neither one of you need help to be successful, neither of you would do something as stupid as these meetings," Shimura replied, it was easy to see he was trying to be calm, but inside he was extremely nervous.

"And what if it were Noriko?" Reiji asked.

"Hey," Noriko snapped as she turned her head towards him.

"She's not Kira," Shimura answered.

"Thank you," Noriko said with a huff.

"The only way she could be Kira would be if you and her worked together, but like Shimura said you don't need help to be successful Namikawa," Mido said.

"Are you saying I'm too stupid to do it on my own?" Noriko asked, a little miffed.

"No, just that you don't have enough influence with the corporation to have been able to put the meetings together on your own."

"Ok that I can see. So back to who we think is Kira, you must have someone in mind or we wouldn't be here, right?"

"Takahashi or Higuchi," Shimura answered.

"I think Takahashi is there to make Kira look smarter. He needs someone more sophisticated than him so he doesn't stand out," Mido supplied as he leaned forward to pour some or the whiskey that was on the table into a rocks glass for himself.

Noriko crinkled her nose at the strong smell of the liquor. "So in other words, Higuchi?"

"We all know it, it has to be him," Reiji said.

"He's obsessed with money and status. More so than Noriko, who we all know could care less, regardless of what she said to get into the meetings," Mido stated, continuing before Noriko could protest. "He always says it doesn't matter, which is what makes it so obvious that it does."

"Why was I included in that little speech?"

"Because I don't know what your real reason for joining the meetings was, but I doubt it was money. I also know Namikawa wouldn't have told you, he not only was protecting his life, but yours. You figured out the meetings' purpose on your own, which is impressive, but why go through all the trouble of forcing your way into them?"

Noriko didn't know how to respond and was glad that Reiji decided to change the subject.

"Are we the only ones you invited here?"

"I asked Ooi, but he said to have our secret meetings on our own," Mido replied.

"Blunt as usual," Noriko grumbled. "Hey, wasn't it the boss that called the meetings originally? He's the one who called me to tell Reiji."

"He called all of us," Shimura answered.

"But then why isn't he a part of all this?" She asked.

"I don't think that old man would want the company to succeed in this fashion. He was probably threatened and agreed to stay quiet," Reiji replied.

"You know you're probably right," Mido began. "He sounded odd that day on the phone, stressed, nervous. I didn't think about it at first, I was thinking about the fact I was getting another raise."

"At that first meeting we were all shown videos of predicted killings on the monitors..."

Noriko winced at Reiji's words and didn't hear the rest of what he was saying, the thought of having to watch those videos, watch as people were murdered, was more than she would have been able to handle. Her nightmares were more than enough for her, those videos would have only added to them. Reiji put a hand on her leg and when she looked up, smiled.

"Namikawa, you received a call at the meeting after Hatori's death, who was that?"

"You sure are sharp. Shimura, which is why Kira chose you as a member. A careful man would never advocate these kinds of killings, Kira couldn't even figure that out. It's no surprise he didn't notice-"

Reiji stopped as his cell phone beeped from his pocket. Noriko glanced at him and down to the phone as he it pulled from his pocket.

"Namikawa speaking," he said, flipping the phone open to answer it.

She couldn't hear what was being said, but the second he glanced up at Shimura before speaking, she had no doubt that it was L, or Light posing as him again anyway.

"There's no need. There's a person here who thought there was something odd about your last call at the meeting."

Noriko saw the surprise on Shimura's face as the man asked, "Who's on the phone?"

"L," Noriko answered.

"L, Mido, Shimura and Noriko are with me."

"What?" Noriko asked when Mido gave her a strange look when Reiji used her first name.

"Do you know L?"

Just as she was about to deny the question, Reiji put his phone on speaker and a distorted voice poured from the phone.

"Noriko's there?" The voice asked.

"Yup, how ya doin' L, where's Ryuzaki," She replied, there was no point in denying she knew L after that, even though she was aware that he wasn't L.

She nearly fell over laughing at the 'Hi, Nori-san' shout that followed her question and the annoyed response from Light, a muffled 'shut up, _Ryuzaki'._

"So you do know L," Mido said.

Noriko shrugged. "Unfortunately."

"That hurts my feelings Nori-san," was heard mumbled and distorted in the background.

Noriko turned her face away, letting her hair hide her face as she struggled not to laugh. She had forgotten how fun it was to tease L and how much she enjoyed their conversations.

"So you joined the meetings as a spy?" Mido asked.

"Not exactly. I haven't seen or talked to anyone that has anything to do with L in a long time actually."

"Then why?"

"Maybe we should focus on what L has to say for a moment?" Reiji cut in.

"Thank you," was the garbled response from the telephone speaker. "We are planning on catching Kira tonight and would like your help."

"So Higuchi's finished," Reiji inquired.

"How did you know," 'L' replied in complete surprise.

"We didn't for sure, but we do now," Noriko said with an eye roll as she leaned back into the couch and folded her arms over her chest. There was an irritated huff from the phone and what sounded like someone sighing dramatically.

"Starting at seven tonight we're going to control Higuchi with a television special on Sakura t.v. I want you to call Higuchi a few minutes after it starts and have him watch the show. I won't do anything to the other six of you, but keep Takahashi and Kida from doing anything."

"Alright, then we will just watch the show," Reiji replied.

"And one last thing. Keep Noriko from doing anything stupid once the broadcast starts, we have everything under control," 'L' said.

All eyes turned to her and her mouth dropped. "Oh, come on, why would I do anything stupid?"

"I know you and I know what you believe about just how much people see with their eyes."

Noriko's eyes widened. "He told you?!" She shouted at the phone.

"Don't do anything stupid. Thank you for your help Namikawa, at seven tonight the broadcast will begin, please make sure Higuchi sees it."

With that the line went dead and Reiji clicked his phone shut. "What did he mean?"

"Huh," Noriko gasped when she realized he was looking at her, as were Mido and Shimura.

"About how much people see with their eyes, what did he mean?"

"Uh. Long story."

"We've got about an hour," Reiji replied, leaning back and folding his arms over his chest and staring at her expectantly.

Noriko sighed and rolled her eyes. "I'm going to kill Ryuzaki when I see him," she mumbled before continuing in a louder, but still annoyed tone. "When I was a little girl my dad used to tell me these stories," she went on to tell them that he had told her that beings called shinigami existed and that they had the ability to see the name and lifespans of humans and were able to kill them with that information. She left out the part about the Death Notes and them actually being real though.

"And you believe that?" Reiji asked.

"Well, ugh," she groaned as she hung her head, trying to think of a way to make herself seem less like a crazy person. "Ok, this is hard to explain. Do you all remember when Kira first showed up and started killing? When L first openly stood up to him on television, Lind L Taylor died, both his name and face were on the screen. We all know you need a name and face to kill, it was said in the meetings. So Kira being able to kill Taylor isn't much of a surprise, it was then, but that's not the point. After that, messages were sent by "Kira" to Sakura t.v. I think we all remember that. Anyways, that time Kira was able to kill with just a face, as was evident by the fact that several police officers died at the scene without their names being shown. It also became apparent that this wasn't the actual Kira, it was a second Kira. Are you actually understanding this?" She asked as she glanced at everyone.

"Yes. You're doing fine," Reiji assured her.

"You know now that I know L and that I knew members of the task force. Well, I was a member of the task force, kind of, which is why I also know that it was a fact that the original Kira needed both a name and a face to kill someone. We knew this because criminals whose names were spelled wrong on t.v or in the papers didn't die. The same thing went for criminals whose nicknames were given instead. When the second Kira came into the picture, that changed. All the criminals started dying, whether their names were misspelled or only an alias was used, it didn't matter. Later, one of the tapes the second Kira sent that we intercepted mentioned shinigami and eyes, it was later aired, you all may have seen it. Now that could mean a lot of things, but I think it was some sort of hint as to how Kira is able to kill. After that my dad's stories seemed much more believable.... You all think I'm insane," she mumbled.

"Not at all. It would seem that the mention of shinigami and eyes is meaningful and having grown up hearing stories about the two it's understandable why you would believe what you do," Reiji replied.

"Yeah, it also makes sense, your deductions, but things such as shinigami can't possibly exist. That would be like saying angels exist too," Mido said.

Noriko shrugged.

"Do you believe in angels too, Noriko," Reiji asked, he was teasing her and she knew it.

"Of course, you're looking at one, sort of," she answered with a cheeky smile. 'If only he knew I wasn't entirely lying.'

"It's almost seven, we should turn on the television," Shimura said.

No one protested and everyone went quiet when the television was turned on and they all waited to see just what L had planned for Higuchi.

It was a bit of a surprise, even for Noriko, when it was announced that over the course of the next three hours a man who claimed to know Kira's identity would be interviewed and he would then give the name of who he believed to be Kira.

She sat up straight and stared at the television when a shot of two men behind screens appeared, they were trying to protect themselves of course so this was no surprise. What was, was the fact that the man speaking said he had overheard a meeting of eight people, but one was killed so it became seven people, he even went so far as to say that the victim was a MR H.

"It can't be, I thought you said Matsuda fell?" Noriko said in shock, snapping her head towards Reiji. The voice hadn't been scrambled and she could clearly tell that it was Matsuda on the other side of the screen.

"He did. I'm going to call Higuchi now."

As Reiji called Higuchi to tell him about the broadcast, Noriko continued to watch the show with interest. She gasped when the screen on the left was suddenly knocked over and a surprised Matsuda came into view, trying desperately to hide his face.

"What are they doing?" She mumbled to herself while the screen was put back up and Matsuda's face hidden.

'They plan on drawing Higuchi out, that much was said, but how? Higuchi is probably freaking out right about now,' with a quick glance over to Reiji she figured she was right as he spoke calmly to Higuchi before sighing when the call was ended abruptly, seconds later Mido's phone was ringing. 'If they want to get Higuchi as Kira, they need to know how he kills. They must be trying to have him kill Matsuda, well actually 'Matsui' Misa's previous manager. He would immediately write down the name on Matsui's cards, Taro Matsui, when that doesn't kill him the only other person he would call would be Misa since he was her manager. So she must be in on all this too, but why, she was the second Kira, why is she...'

Noriko gasped loudly and ignored Reiji when he saw the look on her face as she paled and tried to ask her what was wrong. 'I'm an idiot. Dad told me Misa and Light gave up ownership of their death notes. The shinigami, Rem, told me that Misa had no memory of what she had done when she had her notebook. Why did I forget her telling me that, why didn't I think about the fact that Light must have forgotten too. When you give up ownership of the notebook, you must lose your memories of it, it makes sense. Neither one of them have memories of what they did when they had the death notes. Without his memories of being Kira, Light would want to catch Kira, I don't know about the Misa girl, but Rem said Light had a plan to save Misa and that plan included giving the death note to a human who would use it selfishly. Light wouldn't give up his dream of an ideal world just to save that girl, there's no way, he said himself she means nothing to him. The only question is what else is he planning? If they corner Higuchi and he has a death note then what, he acts as Kira again? But he wouldn't know that he was Kira, but still Light wouldn't give away memories of being a god if he knew he wouldn't get them back...'

Noriko was off the couch a split second later, her eyes wide and her breathing shallow. "Shit," she cursed, snatching up her purse and keys before turning to Mido. "Open your gate."

"It opens auto-"

"Not quick enough for me, just do it Mido," she snapped, sprinting for the door. She was stopped when Reiji managed to get a hold of her arm.

"What are you doing, L said himself that they had everything under control. Matsuda is fine."

"I don't give a damn about Matsuda right now. I need to get to wherever Higuchi is. My guess is that he's going to go to the station and try to stop the broadcast, he doesn't know Matsuda's real name so any attempts to kill him will fail. He would only be able to kill him if he gets the eyes and then he would have to see him to do anything. That won't happen, I trust L, but he's doing exactly what he wants. I can't let him get his memories back, he'll kill L and then, and then he'll come after me. I won't-"

"Noriko, calm down, I can barely understand a word you're saying," Reiji cut her off.

She blinked up at him for a second before snaking her arm from his grip. "I'm sorry....I have to go. Open the gate Mido," she shouted over her shoulder as she ran towards her car. She was in the driver's seat and to the gate before anyone had much of a chance to even try and stop her.

"Do we just let her go?" Mido asked Reiji.

"We don't have a choice at the moment, she's already gone," he replied as he stared after he car. He wasn't a fool, she would have gone no matter what he would have said or done to try to keep her there. Now he was just left to wonder if she would be alright.

* * *

"Dad," she yelled as she sped down the streets towards the strange dangerous feeling she knew was Higuchi.

"Yes, dear?" The called for man asked, appearing in the passenger seat.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what, and do you know you're speeding? The limit is-"

"When you give up ownership of a notebook, do you lose your memories of what you did with it?"

When there wasn't an immediate response, she shouted angrily and turned to him. "Do you?!"

"Yes," he replied simply.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"There's only so much I can tell you, Noriko, you have to learn some of this on your own."

"What about getting them back after you've given up ownership, is that possible?" She asked.

"Yes it is," he answered.

"How?"

"You would have to touch the notebook you possessed, but if that notebook is owned by someone else then the memories would only return while you're holding it. If it wasn't in any human's possession then ownership would go back to them and the memories would remain."

"Alright. And the shinigami, they know this I assume?"

"Yes."

"Ok, would they tell a human?"

"It depends on the shinigami and the situation I guess, there's no rules against it," her dad replied.

"So he planned on getting the notebook back and his memories with it. There's got to be more to it though, if he was only going to remember while touching the book , he'd want to kill Higuchi and keep his memories. But killing Higuchi with L around would be difficult, so what's he planning?"

"You're talking to yourself, that's not healthy you know."

"Neither is seeing dead people and shinigami, but you know," she retorted as she swerved around several cars. "Huh," she said as she heard a strange, repetitive wup-ing sound and glanced out her window to see a helicopter flying over her. She caught a glimpse of the two people in it and her eyes widened as she stomped on the gas pedal to follow. It seemed that it was flying directly over the freeway that was approaching to her right.

When she got to the first on-ramp, she cursed when she saw that it was closed off. The next few were all closed as well, she noticed that the helicopter seemed to be hovering in an area a little further up, she knew there was an offramp in that direction, but no more on-ramps before it. "Well I know I'm going in the right direction at least. But how do I... Hang on dad, this is going to hurt a little," she said before looking in her rear view mirror and suddenly jerking the wheel to the right. The tires skidded loudly on the asphalt, kicking up dirt and smoke. Several cars screeched to a halt behind her and honked as she spun the car around and drove into the offramp that was just past where the helicopter was hovering.

"Dammit, I can't get through. The cops blocked it off. What do I do," she mumbled to herself as she was forced to break behind the numerous cop cars. It was then that she noticed Higuchi and his car were stopped in front of them and the helicopter was landing on the freeway.

She got out of the car and sprinted towards the scene playing out on the brightly lit freeway. Everyone that wasn't in a car was wearing a dark tinted helmet to cover their faces, making it hard to tell who had grabbed her as she raced towards the helicopter that was still very far.

"Let go," she ordered and tried to break free.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but you're not going anywhere," a make voice barked.

"Like hell I'm not," she shouted before snapping her head up at the sound of a terrified scream

A man in a helmet was on the ground, a black notebook beside him, he stared up at the figure of the shinigami he was now able to see. Someone tried to help him, but when he touched the notebook, he too was able to see what had frightened his comrade, and yelled in shock. After a moment of collecting themselves, one of them, the taller, began to walk towards the helicopter with the black notebook in his hands.

"Sorry buddy, this going to hurt," Noriko said before elbowing the man hard in the stomach. He had loosened his hold on her when he looked up to watch the spectacle and she was able to easily slip free and streak towards the helicopter. She kept her distance from the many cop cars, meaning she was further than she wanted to be from the helicopter that was idling on the freeway and also out of eyesight for the moment.

She could hear people shouting to stop her, hear her heels as they slammed into the concrete beneath her and feel the fear that was building in her chest as the man with the notebook got closer to the helicopter. He was only a few steps away now and she was still too far to do anything, she yelled for Ryuzaki, even Watari who she could see beside the helicopter, most of his face was hidden under a ski mask, but she knew it was him. None of them heard her. She forced her legs to pump quicker when the notebook was handed to Ryuzaki who looked up in surprise at the creature he was now able to see beside Higuchi.

She saw it happening as if in slow motion, saw Light reach over to grab the notebook from Ryuzaki, saw his fingers getting closer to the object before closing around it and snatching it from the detective who looked at him oddly, no longer drawn to the sight of the being before him. Light then cried out in shock as he clutched the notebook, Ryuzaki figured it was from the sight of the shinigami, but Noriko knew from the feeling of immense danger that washed over her that that wasn't the reason. It was then that he finally heard Noriko, or possibly the shouts of the ones chasing her, and asking what to do.

"Nori-san," Ryuzaki said slowly while the girl ran towards the helicopter. He was surprised to see her there and a little confused, but when he saw her looking at Light with a horrified expression, he knew something was wrong. He saw the men chasing after her and quickly ordered that they leave her alone.

"Why is she here? Is she insane," Light commented as he turned towards the running girl, whose eyes were focused on him. He could see in her eyes that she knew he had regained his memories, knew that he was planning on killing Higuchi, but it wasn't until she saw the smirk on his face that she stopped abruptly. It was too late, and she knew it.

She fell to her knees about ten yards from the helicopter, her head dropping into her chest and her hands clenching in her lap. She knew from the dreams that it took forty seconds for a person whose name was written in a death note to die and she was silently counting down from when Light had looked up at her and smirked.

"Zero," she whispered and raised her head in time to see Higuchi begin to convulse as his heart tried to rip free of his chest.

* * *

Please review!


	32. Chapter 32 A Deal is a Deal

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note...Waahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, I'm done.

Just a quick note this chapter happens after the beginning of the next chapter, it's just I don't mention any of this in the chapter. Make sense? I hope so.

* * *

**Special Halloween and Happy Birthday L Chapter that I think kinda sucks...**

**Chapter 32**

**A Deal is a Deal**

"So it's Halloween, is anyone doing anything?" Matsuda asked the room of quiet people.

There were several mumbled no's and a few head shakes. Matsuda sulked a little, it was the third time in ten minutes his attempts to strike up a conversation in the tense room had failed. Noriko had moved in two days before and at the moment the atmosphere was a little stifling. Light was doing his best to give her her space, but he wanted her to trust him so badly that he kept pushing her buttons and annoying her. At this point she had yelled in his face seven times and threatened to shove her lunch in places that it definitely didn't go. This had resulted in numerous sighs from Light, several amused smirks from Ryuzaki, annoyed glances from everyone else except Mr Yagami who tried to get the two to talk together civilly. All his attempts failed and ended with Noriko stalking back to her seat beside Ryuzaki who would swallow his smirk when Noriko would glare at him, daring him to say something, anything to her.

And it was still only her second full day back with the task force.

By the end of that day, Noriko was actually relieved that Lisa didn't seem to care that she wasn't twenty and not of age to drink. The reason for this was because she had gotten Noriko a bottle of plum sake for her birthday that she still hadn't drank. It was in her fridge in her apartment and calling her name. She had had sake before on several occasions with Reiji, never much, but it seemed to help her relax and calm down after a rather stressful day. And today was definitely stressful, actually that might even be an understatement. It was hell as far as she was concerned, having to be in the same room with Light who was trying desperately to get her trust back, and of course everyone except for Ryuzaki was rooting for him. It made Noriko want to grab them by the ear and toss them from her balcony, but she refrained. That's just not something nice, sane people do after all.

Now as she rode the elevator up to her apartment all she could think about was a nice hot, calming bath with some cherry blossom and lavender scented oil before changing into something comfy. After that she planned on eating something, watching some t.v and having a small glass of plum sake.

"You know...maybe I'll have a some of that sake now," Noriko mused as she walked in to her living room and eyed the fridge in the kitchen. "Sure, why not."

The apartment came fully stocked with anything she might need, but she still hadn't learned where everything was. After opening several of the cupboard doors and finding the dishes, but not glasses, she finally came across a set of tea cups. She shrugged, snatched a tea cup and retrieved the bottle of sake from the fridge. She poured herself a small amount first, but then glanced around as if to be sure no one was watching, which she knew they weren't since he wasn't under surveillance, no one was at the moment, and poured herself a whole cup of the sweet smelling sake.

She laughed quietly to herself while she sipped at the sake and walked back to her living room.

"It's very sweet, almost too sweet. Somehow I think Ryuzaki would love this...If there was more sugar in it anyways," she said to herself as she set the cup down on the coffee table before heading down the hall to her bedroom.

She pulled her red shirt over her head and tossed it carelessly to the floor before walking to her bathroom and turning on the bath water. Once the tub was full and the bathroom nice and steamy, she slipped in to the scented water and let the hot water ease her muscles and wash away the days troubles.

When the steam had dissipated and the water had gone cold almost an hour later, she sighed and got out of the tub, wrapping a towel around herself and walking into the bedroom to get dressed. She put on a pair of long, wide legged yoga pants and a burgundy t-shirt. After brushing her hair which was still short and barely reached her shoulders and pulling half off it up into a ponytail, leaving her bangs to frame her face, she made her way back to the living room, humming to herself and with a new spring to her step only to stop in her tracks.

"What the hell are doing in my apartment, Ryuzaki?" She snapped at the man that was crouched on her couch, a piece of cake in front of him.

"Eating a piece of the cake I saw you bring in. It's very good," he said through a mouthful of the carrot cake she had bought the day before.

"How did you get in here? I locked the door."

"I own the building," he replied as he let the fork dangle between his fingers of his right hand and reached over to take a sip of tea from a tea cup beside his plate, he still had yet to look at her and she found it very aggravating.

"That doesn't mean you can just barge in here whenever you want to."

"Actually, it does," Ryuzaki said matter of factly.

"You've got to be kidding me," Noriko grumbled to herself as she walked into the kitchen to get her cup of sake. When she saw the bottle, but not her glass, she became a little confused before her eyes widened and she mumbled, "Oh crap," and walked back to the living room to see Ryuzaki draining the last of his tea, his head tilting back to be sure to get every drop.

"That was very good tea Nori-san, it was cold though," Ryuzaki said to her while all she could do was gape at him.

"That wasn't tea you idiot," she yelled at the raven eyed detective.

"Oh, what was it?"

"Sake!"

Ryuzaki looked at her oddly for a moment, scratched his head and finally spoke. "How did you get sake, Nori-san?" He drawled, cocking his head slightly.

"It doesn't matter, what-"

"It does matter. Nori-san isn't of legal drinking age."

"That's not-"

"That means Nori-san shouldn't be drinking. It's a no-no," Ryuzaki said with a small giggle as he wiggled a finger in the air, Noriko took a step back towards the kitchen.

"Have you ever had plum sake before, Ryuzaki?" Noriko asked curiously.

"No. I've never had any alcohol before. I prefer sugar," he replied, shoving a forkful of cake into his mouth.

"And how quickly did you drink that?"

"I'd say in about ten minutes."

'He's going to be feeling the effects of that soon. I never had more than two cups of sake, and that was always enough to get me pretty happy, but he just downed almost twice that in ten minutes.....Maybe I should get my camera,' she thought as a smirk tugged at her lips.

"Whatever Nori-san is thinking, I suggest you don't do it. I may look small, but I am quite strong," Ryuzaki told her.

"Yes, but you don't like touching people and you'd have to restrain me, do you think you could do it?"

"You don't scare me, Nori-san."

"Whatever. I'm going to get a small cup of sake since you drank mine, can I get you anything?" Noriko asked.

"More tea please," he mumbled through his mouthful of cake.

Noriko made a disgusted grimace at the cake that sprayed all over her table. "I told you, Ryuzaki that wasn't tea. I'll get you some real tea."

Ryuzaki didn't reply so she shook her head and made her way to the kitchen. She put a tea cup of water in the microwave to heat up and poured herself a small cup of plum sake.

When the microwave beeped and she turned to get the water out, she wound up coming face to slumped shoulders with Ryuzaki and screaming before she pushed him away from her and put a hand to her chest.

"What the hell are you doing, Ryuzaki?"

"Did I scare you?"

"Not at all, I always react that way when people suddenly show up in front of me," she retorted snottily.

"Seems a little overly dramatic, don't you think," he asked, tilting his head and playing with his lip.

"Go sit down."

"I don't feel like sitting. I feel a little funny actually, tingly," he replied as he scratched at his head.

"That would be the sake. Ow, what are you doing," she shouted and whirled around when her hair tie was pulled from her hair.

"Nori-san looks better with her hair down," Ryuzaki replied as he shoved her hair tie in his pocket and slouched out of the room.

"What the hell just happened," she mumbled.

When she walked back into the living room with the tea and her sake, Ryuzaki was on the couch in his usual crouch so she figured that the scene in the kitchen was just a rare act and probably wouldn't happen again.

"This tea is different, Nori-san," he drawled in what sounded very close to a whine.

"I told you already what you drank earlier was sake, Ryuzaki," she replied irritably.

"Yes I know, I liked it, it was very sweet."

"It is, and I think you've had enough."

"Nori-san is not the boss of me."

"No, but it's my sake, so back off. How's that sound?"

"Nori-san is being mean."

"And you're being annoying."

"Nori-san-"

"Would you stop saying my name!"

"Nori-saaaaaannnnn, I want more sake."

"No!" She snapped at him.

"Please?" Ryuzaki asked.

"No."

"I'll hit Light-kun again," he offered.

"You hit Light, when?" She asked as she looked at the scrawny detective.

"It was in Amane's room before Nori-san joined the investigation. It's actually on tape."

"I want to see it!"

"Sake first Nori-san and I shall tell you where it is."

Noriko stared at the detective for a few seconds, his pale cheeks had a tint of pink to them and his lips were quirking up a bit as the sake took effect. Even she was beginning to feel the effects of the little she had had. It seemed the plum sake made its way into the system quickly.

"Ok, but I want to see that tape, understood?" Noriko asked as she got up.

"Yes Nori-san," Ryuzaki answered, saluting her with his fork and somehow managing to get cake on his forehead that he wiped off with a scowl before sticking his hand in his mouth.

She went to the kitchen and got two more cups of sake and returned to the living room. She held the cup out to Ryuzaki, but just out of his grasp.

"Where is the tape?" She asked.

Ryuzaki tried to get the sake from her, but she pulled it back further. He frowned cutely at the cup in her hands and reached for it again.

"Not until you tell me where the tape...What are you doing," Noriko asked when Ryuzaki stood up and walked around the table to where she was standing.

He stood directly in front of her and leaned in closely causing Noriko to blush at his proximity to her before he snatched the sake from her and slouched back to the couch.

"What the hell was that?!" Noriko snapped at him.

Ryuzaki looked up at her from over the rim of his cup and blinked. "I was seducing you."

It took her a moment to process the words before she burst into laughter and had to sit down in her chair. "S-S-Sorry, but that was funny. You... seduce me, yeah right."

"Are you saying I am incapable of wooing an attractive woman?" Ryuzaki asked.

"What I'm...Yeah." She replied, nodding her head.

"Now I'm not telling Nori-san where the tape is," he replied stubbornly.

"Oh come on, I was joking and wait a second did you just call me attractive?" Noriko asked as she furrowed her brows and stared at him.

"It took you long enough," he mumbled.

"...You're weird."

"I've been told."

"Where is the tape, Ryuzaki?"

"I'm not telling you, you were mean."

"Don't make me make you tell me."

"You don't scare me Nori-san, what are you going to do? Fall on me?"

"Hey, I'll have you know I've gotten a little more graceful over-"

"You, graceful, I doubt it."

"Oh you are so asking for it," Noriko growled.

"I didn't ask for anything," Ryuzaki replied innocently.

"You do know that I know where you stash all your sweets, right?"

Ryuzaki's dark eyes cornered up to her and narrowed. "You will leave my sweets alone."

"Then you will tell me where that tape is," she replied, sticking her nose into the air arrogantly before giggling at the look on Ryuzaki's face. This had just turned into a game and he wasn't about to lose.

"You're bluffing," Ryuzaki said as he stared at her through suspicious eyes.

She grinned, the sake making it a little lopsided. "Try me," she replied, standing and heading slowly towards her door.

"Nori-san," Ryuzaki warned when she opened the door.

She smirked and giggled before shed bolted from the room.

"Say good bye to your stash, Ryuzaki," she shouted over her shoulder as she ran for the elevators and jabbed repeatedly at the buttons. "Come on," she grumbled impatiently, watching the numbers above the elevator slowly get closer.

She turned to see that Ryuzaki was slouching after her, walking a little quicker than usual and also not very straight. She squealed and pushed the button several more times. Finally, the door opened and she ran inside, pushing the door close button and heading for the basement and the investigation room.

She impatiently tapped her foot as the elevator made it's descent and when the doors finally opened, she bolted and nearly fell down the steps to get to the long desk where all the computers were. Light, Matsuda and Mr Yagami were still there and watched her curiously as she made her way to Ryuzaki's usual seat and reached behind the monitor of a large screen. She fumbled around with something before letting out a victorious cry when a large plastic bag fell from behind the screen.

Holding the bag to her chest, she ran back towards the stairs only to stop when the doors to the other elevator opened and Ryuzaki slouched out. The second he saw her with his candy held to her chest, his eyes narrowed.

"Now Nori-san, be reasonable or I'll tell Light-kun you really do still love him and want-"

"Shut up you idiot," Noriko shouted at him and almost launched the bag of candy at him before remembering she was trying to get the candy away from him, not give it to him.

"Noriko, Ryuzaki what's going on?" Light asked as he walked towards the two who were watching each other carefully.

"Nothing," they both replied.

"Give the candy back, Nori-san," Ryuzaki said, slowly walking down the stairs towards her.

She backed up and clutched the candy tighter. "Not until you tell me where the tape is."

"What tape? Noriko, what's-"

"Nori-san and I made a deal, but it seems we didn't quite agree on the terms," Ryuzaki replied, cutting Light off as he continued to walk towards Noriko, who was beginning to look like a cat cornered by a dog as she hunched over the candy and watched him through squinted eyes.

"It's you that didn't agree to it you damn drunk," Noriko argued.

There were mutters of curiosity from the three watching before Noriko began to take a few steps towards the door that led to the hallway, she didn't know her way around too well, but she knew there were more elevators down one of the halls, which one was the question.

Next thing anyone knew, she sprinted for the door. Ryuzaki who was only a few steps away managed to grab her arm. Thinking that he wouldn't be able to hold her, she tried to run away, but his grasp on her arm was firm and she squealed when she slipped and fell backwards. She squeezed her eyes shut as she waited to impact the cold, hard tile floor, but instead landed on something kinda soft and bony.

"What are you doing Ryuzaki, you pervert," she screamed when she opened her eyes to see that Ryuzaki had broken her fall and was in the process of snatching the candy from her, but it was held so closely to her chest that it looked as if he were trying to grope her.

Noriko was up and staring at Ryuzaki, her hands on her hips as he inspected the bag of candy he had taken from her.

"Your candy is safe, where's the tape?" Noriko asked in huff as she glared at him.

"Just open my computer and click on the icon of a cake on the right hand side, it'll play automatically."

"Thank you," Noriko said stiffly as she walked over to the computer, hit a few buttons and clicked on the icon of a birthday cake.

A small screen opened up as everyone gathered around her to see what it was they had been fighting over. Noriko hit a few more buttons, it took her a few attempts to get the right one, but she finally managed to get the video to play on all the monitors on the wall.

Just after the monitors flickered on, Light was seen punching Ryuzaki so hard he flew across the room they were in, dragging Light with him since they had been cuffed together at the time.

"You said you hit _him_ you scrawny little liar," Noriko shouted, whirling around to point at him, her hand wavering slightly.

"Keep watching," Ryuzaki drawled as he picked a few pieces of candy from the bag and watched the monitors.

"This is ridiculous, Noriko," Light sighed, trying to stop the video.

"Oh no you don't...YES!" She yelled as she jumped into the air when Ryuzaki landed a nice kick to the underside of Light's jaw.

"Told you," Ryuzaki mumbled form behind her.

"Actually you kicked him, you said you hit him," Noriko pointed out as she continued to watch the monitor as the two men struggled with each other until the phone rang and it cut off.

"Hmm, you're right Nori-san, it seems I lied to you. I apologize," Ryuzaki said.

"It's alright that was still pretty good."

Light sighed in exasperation and walked away from the two.

"Although I do believe we had another deal...."

"Huh?" Noriko replied as she cocked her to the side and stared at Ryuzaki.

"Light-kun I have a favor to ask of you," Ryuzaki called.

"What," Light asked, it was clear he was highly annoyed with the two of them as he turned in his seat to glare at Ryuzaki.

"Well you see, today is my birthday so I-"

"Your birthday is on Halloween?"

"I would think that would be fairly obvious by what I just said, Nori-san," Ryuzaki replied, irritated by her interruption.

"That's so cool!" Noriko replied.

"Yes well, as I was saying Light-kun there is something I want that only you can give me."

"What is it, Ryuzaki," Light asked tiredly.

"I want to go on a double date with you and Misa-san and Nori-san."

"You want to date Misa?" Noriko asked in sheer confusion as she scrunched up her nose and tried to look disgusted, but in her intoxicated stated she just looked cute.

"No."

"Then who?" She asked.

"You Noriko," Light answered for her angrily.

"Me," she asked as she pointed a finger blankly at herself. "Why?"

"Because Nori-san is pretty when she smiles," Ryuzaki replied seriously.

"Huh?" Noriko grunted, scratching at her head in her confusion.

"Just kidding," Ryuzaki said before he turned back to Light. "I was actually wondering if-"

"Hey, what the hell, Ryuzaki?!" Noriko shouted.

"Be quiet, Noriko. You're drunk and it's a little annoying," Light scolded in irritation.

"You're annoying," Noriko grumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.

"What do you really want Ryuzaki, and leave Noriko out of it," Light said.

"Well, could you come here for a moment Light-kun, I don't want Nori-san and the others to hear this."

Light sighed and rolled his eyes, but stood up and walked towards Ryuzaki, who had one hand in his jeans pocket and the other was playing with his lip. Noriko watched as Light walked up to Ryuzaki and her eyes widened when Ryuzaki suddenly and out of the clear blue swung his fist at Light's face. Light didn't have the time to react and wound up taking the full force of the hit, he took several steps backwards and regained himself. He glared at the now grinning detective and was about to retaliate when Noriko squealed, ran up in front of Ryuzaki and threw her arms around him. She giggled as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

Ryuzaki who was in the process of trying to get her arms off of him so he could take a step back, froze and stared at her curiously. She was grinning, but that suddenly changed into a frown and she released him only to out her hands on her hips.

"That's not fair!" She cried.

"What's not fair, Noriko?" Light asked. "And what-"

She turned to him and folded her arms over her chest, pouting a little. "Why does he get to hit you and I don't?"

Ryuzaki snickered behind her as Light's hurt gaze flickered down to Noriko's green eyes.

"It's my birthday," Ryuzaki replied, sticking a finger in the air to emphasize his point, a grin still lingered on his lips as he saw Light's look go from serious to a look that clearly said 'are you serious'.

"So, I want to hit him too," she whined.

"No one's stopping you," Ryuzaki said with a disinterested shrug, although he thought it might be amusing to see her hit him.

Noriko glanced around, but didn't move as Light wiped at his face with his arm and walked towards her.

"Come on Noriko, I know you're angry, but you're also drunk. You need-"

"Ha!" She screeched as she punched him square in the nose and took off running to the elevators laughing like a maniac the entire time.

Ryuzaki just stayed where he was, watching Light as his dad and Matsuda gathered around him and watched Noriko run to the elevators like a madwoman.

"I think that was the best birthday present I've ever received," Ryuzaki mumbled as he put his thumb to his lips and walked to the elevators to go back up to Noriko's apartment and attempt to get her to make him a cake since he had eaten all of the one in her fridge.

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Please review!


	33. Chapter 33 Kira Returns

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note still

Just a little note, L's birthday chapter technically takes place during this chapter. Towards the middle actually, but I wanted to do it separate since this is already 21 pages long... And it was a little treat.

Also since I did a special chapter and had said everyone would hate me after chapter 32, I was wrong. It's this chapter I think everyone will hate me for...

* * *

**Chapter 33**

**Kira Returns**

"Well, Higuchi could have committed suicide," Mr Yagami theorized.

Noriko shook her head from where she sat on one of two couches in the large room she had seen many times in her dreams. Ryuzaki and Light were in front of the monitors and computer screens, Mr Yagami, Matsuda, Aihara who she now knew to be Aizawa, and the one man she had never met until now, Mogi, were standing around a large table in the center of the room. Papers were strewn about the table as they tried to make sense of Higuchi's death.

"I didn't kill Higuchi, I don't know why he died," she heard Rem proclaim.

Noriko scoffed and looked at the back of Light's head with slightly narrowed eyes. Sensing her eyes on him, he turned to her and smiled, it was meant to be reassuring, comforting, but it wasn't. She didn't want to be there, near him, but she didn't want to leave him alone near Ryuzaki and Watari either. When she turned her eyes away from his and brought her knees into her chest, he sighed and turned back to Ryuzaki.

"You know, Ryuzaki, maybe Noriko should go home, she doesn't look like she wants to be here," he observed.

"It was her choice to be here, she may leave whenever she wishes," Ryuzaki replied, popping a sugar from a bowl in front of him into his mouth.

"I'm staying. Thanks for your concern Light, but isn't your girlfriend holed up in a room around here? Save your concern for her, it's wasted on me," Noriko spoke up bitterly.

"Nori," Light sighed. "She's not-"

"I don't want to hear anything from you, it's all lies anyway," she snapped before he could continue.

"Oh, hey. Listen to this," Aizawa called suddenly. "There's a few rules in here that we should think about."

Noriko listened, only partially interested, while the 'rules' were read aloud from the first page of the Death Note.

"The person whose name is written in this notebook shall die. This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind while writing his or her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected. If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen. If the cause of death is not specified the person will simply die of a heart attack. After writing the cause of death, details should be written within the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds. There's also a how to use section on the back cover. It says that if the person using the note fails to consecutively write names of people to be killed within thirteen days of each other, the user will die. It also says that if you try to make the notebook unusable by tearing it up or burning it, all people who have touched the notebook shall die. Wouldn't the thirteen day rule clear Light and Amane then," Aizawa asked, looking up as he finished reciting the rules.

"Yeah, Light and Misa were confined for over fifty days and they definitely weren't able to write any names down during that time, but they're still alive. Isn't that proof that they're innocent," Matsuda asked happily.

"You should release them Ryuzaki, it's obvious they're innocent now," Mr Yagami said to the detective who was staring blankly at the screen in front of him.

"You're all idiots," Noriko mumbled.

"What are you saying, Noriko? Light's been cleared, this means-"

"All it means, Matsuda, is that the lying, cheating bastard is cleared and I don't care," Noriko hissed blandly. "You don't even know if the rules are real, yet you're all willing to simply let them go?"

"Nori-san is right, we should find a way to test the notebook." Ryuzaki spun slowly around in his chair to face the surprised group of detectives.

"You can't mean to use it?" Mr Yagami cried.

"No one needs to use it." Noriko slipped from the couch and walked over to Aizawa who was holding the notebook and looking at her questioningly. "May I see it," she asked as she held out a hand.

Aizawa glanced to Ryuzaki who nodded minutely before handing the notebook to Noriko. She almost pulled her hand back when the cool leather of the notebook touched her fingertips, it sent a chill down her spine and made her want to retch, but she forced it down and took hold of the notebook. She had touched it after Higuchi had died on the freeway, saying she wanted to see what they all saw. No one had questioned her, but they did find her unmoved attitude a little odd.

Pretending to be reading over the words written there, she wandered a little way from the group and pulled something discreetly from the pocket of her black slacks. Turning back around, she held up a small lighter and dangled the notebook in front of her, between two fingers, with a smile, she struck the lighter and brought it to the notebook.

"Let's test this shall we?"

"Noriko," Light shouted.

Everyone aside from Ryuzaki raced towards the girl. Light who was hindered by the handcuff that had connected him to Ryuzaki for the past several weeks nearly pulled the uncaring detective from his chair as he ran at Noriko. Being that the chair was on wheels, he just tugged him a few feet before getting close enough to snatch the lighter from Noriko and take the notebook from her. The bottom corner was just begin to catch fire so he tossed it on the ground, Aizawa and Matsuda stomped the flames out while Noriko stared, unaffected, at Light.

"What are trying to do, Noriko? Are you crazy, you could have killed us and yourself?" Light shouted at her, but his voice wasn't angry, it was concerned, sad even as he put his hands on her shoulders.

"I don't care if I die, as long as I take you with me," she growled in reply so quietly that even Ryuzaki who was now standing with his hands in his pockets a few feet away couldn't hear.

"Nori," Light whispered, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him in a tight hug.

Her eyes widened and she froze for a full second before shoving him off herself and slapping him harshly across his cheek. The sound echoed through the room while she fixed him with an angry glare. "Touch me again and you'll see just how much I've changed," she warned before turning and walking to the couch and sitting back down.

"That was scary," Matsuda laughed nervously.

"Yeah, no kidding. We should think about locking the notebook up, restricting access to it just to the task force members," Aizawa said, putting a little extra emphasis on task force members, since Noriko wasn't an actual member and it was her they wanted to keep it away from.

"Not a bad idea, but shouldn't we be thinking about releasing Light and Amane," Mr Yagami asked, his excitement at having his son completely cleared evident in his tone and the glint in his eyes.

"Shinigami," Ryuzaki began. "There are more notebooks in the human world, aren't there?"

"I wouldn't know. It's possible," Rem replied.

"If there were, would they all have the same rules?"

"Yes. No matter the notebook, the rules are all the same."

"Ryuzaki, the suspicion against Light and Amane has been cleared. Shouldn't we be ending surveillance on them?" Aizawa pressed.

"Yeah, it's crystal clear," Matsuda agreed loudly.

"Yes, I suppose you're right," Ryuzaki said monotonously. "I'm sorry for all the trouble."

"Thank god," Mr Yagami said as he smiled and placed a hand on his son's shoulder as Ryuzaki stood from the chair and dug into his pocket.

He brought out a shiny silver key that he used to undo the handcuff on Light's wrist and his own and then sat back down, dropping the cuffs onto the desk beside him.

Noriko looked away, disgusted by how easily they had been swayed by rules they weren't willing to even test, yet believed without question.

"Yeah, but am I right in thinking that this investigation isn't over, Ryuzaki? Someone other than Higuchi was definitely killing criminals before I went into confinement. If Kira and the second Kira were killing at the same time, and if it's like Ryuzaki seems to think, there are definitely multiple copies of the notebook in this world. Who were Kira and the second Kira? Where are the other notebooks? These are all questions we need to figure out," Light spoke with conviction that made the detectives behind him smile and nod with determination. "The handcuffs are off, but is it okay if I stay here, Ryuzaki, and help you?"

"...Yes, I suppose that would be fine."

"Misa will be leaving though, right?" Light asked.

"Yes. We will no longer have her under surveillance so we can't keep her here. She's an outsider now, we don't want her to be involved. Mogi will also stop acting as her manager," Ryuzaki answered as he stacked individual creamers on top of one another.

"Will I be able to see her outside of here?"

"You wish to keep seeing her?" Ryuzaki asked Light, a little surprised by the revelation.

"Well, she did risk her life for me and was constantly saying she was in love with me."

"Indeed, but what of Nori-san, didn't you wish to repair your relationship?"

"Yeah, but Misa is just a friend. Maybe once she sees that, she'll understand it was all a misunderstanding," Light replied.

"Don't hold your breath...On second thought... do actually," Noriko said scathingly. Glaring at him, Noriko grunted in disgust and turned away.

Light sighed and ran a hand through his brown hair. "I didn't say it would be easy."

"Ryuzaki?" Noriko called.

"Hmm?"

"I don't suppose I could stay here too, could I?"

"Why would you want to do that Nori-san? You have a job and friends now."

"Yeah I do, but I want to help again. I think I can be a little more useful this time around, but I have one condition."

"You have a condition for me allowing you to stay here, isn't that-"

"I don't want to deal with anyone but you or Watari. You and I seem to be thinking the same thing and-"

"Which is?"

She glanced to Light and back to him. "That you were right."

"I usually am," he mumbled with an eyebrow raised slightly and a small shrug.

Noriko rolled her eyes. "Well?"

"...You can have a room of your choice, just talk to Watari. You will have to move your things on your own though."

"I think I can manage that. Thank you Ryuzaki. I'm going to leave for the night, I'll be back tomorrow sometime," she said as she stood up and prepared to leave.

"It's pretty late Noriko, maybe you should get some rest here and I can help you move tomorrow," Light offered, he didn't want her out of his sight, let alone at another man's house.

She opened her mouth to decline, but was cut off by Matsuda.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. It would give you guys a chance to talk and maybe work things out."

Noriko lifted a skeptical brow at him and rolled her eyes. "Not hap-"

"I agree, Noriko, it is late, it would be better to stay here for the night. I know you're angry with Light, but it may be a good idea to let him help you, you two used to be so close, it's hard to see you like this," Mr Yagami said.

"No," she replied dully before turning to the stairs that led to the elevators.

"Noriko, please. Just give me a chance, you never let me try and explain things," Light pleaded.

"I don't care."

"Noriko," Light pleaded quietly as he walked up to her while she waited for the elevator door to open.

"Go away, Light," she sighed tiredly. "I don't want to fight with you, I don't want to talk to you, I don't want anything to do with you. Just leave me alone."

"I can't do that, I love you, Noriko."

Noriko winced like the words hurt her to hear and in many ways they did. She shook her head. "I don't love you."

"That's not true and you know it," Light argued, glancing the elevator doors that were slowly opening.

"It is true, Light," she replied sternly. With a shake of her head, she turned her back to him and walked into the elevator.

Light stared at her when she turned back around, her eyes on the ground as if scared to look at him. When the doors began to slide shut, he stepped forward and got into the elevator with her. She looked up at him, surprise and suspicion written all over her face.

"What are you doing?" She asked harshly, shakily.

"I'm walking you to your car. I'll regain your trust, Nori, I'll prove to you that I love you and everything was just a misunderstanding."

"I told you once, Light, you can't explain away what I saw and you know it. I know what happened, I know what you are, who you are and I won't let you-"

She sucked in a breath and tried to take a step back when he faced her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him in a tight embrace.

"Let me go," she whispered hoarsely.

"I told you, Noriko, you are mine and I will do anything to prove it to you," he whispered in her ear.

"Then don't kill him," she whispered back, her head drooping and her fists clenching.

Light chuckled darkly. "It's out of my hands."

"What?" She asked worriedly, pushing him away and looking up at him in fear.

"Everything will be fine, you'll see." He gently brushed her her bangs out of her eyes and kissed her forehead.

"Don't," she pleaded, taking a small step back so that she was pressed against the cold metal of the elevator wall.

"Come on." He took her hand that she snaked out of his grasp quickly as the elevator doors opened and he tried to lead her out.

She stood still in the elevator for a minute, staring at him, torn and confused. 'It's out of his hands? What does he mean, what did he do?'

"Noriko," he called softly.

She swallowed and followed him out of the elevator. A sense of helplessness washed over her and she was suddenly completely afraid to leave Ryuzaki and Watari. She came to a stop a few feet from her car and bent her head down, she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, trying to figure out what to do.

'In all those dreams I could never save them, they always died. I'm useless, whatever powers I should have are apparently not enough to stop him. If he's planning on killing L then there is nothi-'

"Are you alright," Light asked as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

She jerked away from his touch and shook her head as she looked up at him, still biting on her bottom lip. "What do you want?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"What are you-"

"Answer the question, Light, what do you want," she asked again.

"Why don't we go for a drive?"

She nodded and finished the walk to her car, fumbling her keys out of her purse and pressing the button to unlock the doors. She slipped into the driver's seat and Light got into the passenger side.

"Nice car, you must be doing pretty well for yourself," Light said.

"It was a gift," she replied with little emotion and barely above a whisper. Starting the red Nissan, she avoided Light's eyes as she reversed out of the parking stall.

"A gift, huh? From Namikawa?" He asked, the jealousy leaking into his voice.

"Yes, from Reiji."

"How well do you two know each other, Noriko?"

"None of your business," she answered blandly. "Where am I going?"

"Anywhere, we're not being watched or followed."

She went silent as she drove to the only place she could think of. The park that was near the N.P.A building. She parked and when Light got out she stayed where she was until he opened the door and held his hand out to her. Ignoring his hand, she got out of the car and brushed past him.

Light sighed, he shut her car door and walked after her, enjoying the feel of the night's breeze against his skin. He had been locked indoors for so long he had forgotten how refreshing it could be just to hear the wind in the trees and the sound of crickets singing in the grass.

Not looking back, knowing that Light was following her, Noriko walked to the swings and sat down. She grabbed the chain on either side of her, resting her head against her right hand as she kicked off her black high heels and let her feet glide over the sand as she pushed herself slowly. Her eyes were focused on the ground in front of her so she never saw Light take a seat in the swing beside her, but she heard the creak of the chains tense under his weight.

"Do you really hate me, Noriko?" Light asked quietly, hurt and sadness in his voice.

She didn't answer immediately, she didn't know the answer, part of her loved him still, regardless of what he had done, but another part of her did hate him, loathed him for what he had become. "I don't know," she answered honestly.

"But you don't love me?"

"I don't know."

"That's not a no at least," he replied hopefully. "I love you, Noriko."

"I don't want to hear it, Light. I may not know how I feel anymore, but that doesn't change the fact that you are Kira, and what you're doing is wrong. I will not let you kill him."

"You still think you can protect him, how, you're only human, Noriko."

She shook her head. "No, I'm not."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not entirely human, but even then, I'm not naive enough to think I can save him. That's why I'm asking you what you want?"

"I want you to explain what you mean."

"A long time ago there was a war of sorts, between shinigami and the Gods," Noriko began, her voice distant and soft. "The Shinigami felt that they deserved more than the dying realm they inhabited, they wanted more, they wanted the world that had been given to the humans. They were greedy and began killing humans, thousands of innocent people died, but there was one family. One family that tried to protect others. It was a family that believed in magic, and they used what they knew of that magic to protect as many innocent lives as they could

But even though they were protecting others, it was difficult to protect themselves, so they created several items that were meant to keep their names hidden from the Shinigami and their eyes. These amulets worked, but they were not perfect. Other people still knew their names and most of the family was killed by the Shinigami.

The Gods felt pity for the family, but death can't be undone. So instead the family was given a job in the afterlife, to protect the souls of the innocent, so not only were the living relatives to protect the living world, with the blessings of the Gods, the dead were to protect the souls of the dead. Those amulets, only one is left."

"Your necklace," Light said in surprise. "So that's why you gave it him."

"Yes, I had hoped he'd wear it. It would have made him impossible to kill while his name was hidden, but he doesn't wear it," she answered.

"Interesting. I don't see what good the necklace would have done you though, your name isn't kept secret."

"The amulets are meant to protect the living members of the Mori family, it's just an extra precaution."

"Extra?"

Noriko nodded. "The god's granted the Mori's a few favors for helping humanity...I can't be killed by the Death Note's, but I can be harmed by them as I think you know," she expalinede as she pulled up the right sleeve of the metallic gray shirt she wore to reveal the jagged scar she had received the day she and Light had been on the hijacked bus.

He looked from the scar and into her eyes which showed only tiredness. "I don't know what you're talking about, what does the-"

"I'm not an idiot, Light," she said, readjusting her sleeve and looking back to the ground. "You can kill in ways other than a heart attack, you can control a person before their death too and you used that thief. You used him to get Raye Penber into a situation where he would be forced to show his I.D, and you used that to get the names of the other agents in Japan somehow. I know why you kept saying you were sorry that day, it's because it was your fault that I have this scar, and you know it."

"You've put a lot of thought into this."

"I guess, but I know you, Light. You were my world for seventeen years, then you betrayed me."

"I didn't betray you, Noriko," Light pleaded. "I was trying to protect you."

"From you, right? From what you were doing? Didn't you ever think that I wouldn't approve? You know me too, Light, better than anyone else. How could you possibly think I would want you to do what you did? What you're doing?"

"I was doing it for our future, for you, for our children, and their children. I'm creating a world where everyone treats everyone with respect and kindness-"

"Because they're too afraid to do anything else," Noriko shouted at him before lowering her head and taking a deep breath. "Your reasons are one thing, Light, I can understand them, even say I wish the world was what you want it to be, but...it's not...We are only human, Light, not one of us is perfect. There is always going to be evil in this world and right now, it's you."

"It's a small sacrifice, I'll be the God of a new world, some sacrifices must be made in order to achieve that."

"I will not let Ryuzaki and Watari become sacrifices to your new world," Noriko said, turning her head to look him in the eye. The tiredness was still there, but it was shadowed with determination and courage.

"I can't kill them, Noriko, I don't have the notebook. I don't even have a piece of the Death Note, you saw me swallow the last bit I had," Light told her.

"You have something planned though, don't you? It's too much to think about..." She trailed off and tilted her head up to the moon and closed her eyes.

"There's something I want to know, things still don't add up," Light stated.

Noriko opened her eyes and turned her head slightly, staring at him with one eye visible. "What?"

"The story you told me, about your family, how is it that you couldn't see the shinigami until that night?"

"Normally you can only see them when you're dead, it's been so long since it was necessary to see them that I guess we just stopped seeing them. Then I was shot. I should have been able to see them as soon as I woke up, but my dad didn't feel it was the right time and suppressed that ability. That night I came to see you, I came to apologize. I wanted to make things right with you, I loved you and I felt disgusting for thinking you were Kira. My dad was with me and for the first time, I actually felt his touch when he put his hand on my shoulder as he opened your door."

"Your dad?"

"Yeah, he's been visiting a lot less than usual lately. Higuchi has made his job a lot harder than it should be," Noriko sighed.

"But your dad is-"

"Dead? I'm aware, so is he. I can see shinigami, Light, is the ghost of my dead father that big of a stretch?"

"I suppose not, it also explains why my locked door was opened. But if you couldn't see them when you woke up after being shot, why did you say that L and I had lied to you?"

"I have these...nightmares. I see a lot in them, not all of them are accurate, but there's usually a shred of truth to everything I see. In those dreams, you were Kira, and Ryuga as I knew him then, was L. There were other people, but I could never really see them," she answered.

"You knew Higuchi was Kira, didn't you?"

"Yes. I also know that there's only one shinigami in the living world right now and that's Rem. There's something else too, I can't pinpoint it yet, but there's something threatening nearby. It's similar to the feeling I got from Higuchi and can feel from you, like someone else has a Death Note, but that's not the case I would know if someone else had gotten a Death Note the moment they touched it. I'm still adjusting too, this is still fairly new to me."

"So can you sense the notebooks themselves?" Light asked.

"No, it seems more like I can sense the person or shinigami that's in possession of one. I'm not really sure though, but like I said all I sense right now is that you are the owner of a notebook and so is the shinigami. The major difference though is that you're the threat and not her. To the shinigami the Death Notes are basically twisted tools for their own survival. That is what they were created for, but when you throw a human in the mix that changes drastically. The only way the notebook would benefit a human is if they used it to murder people, whatever the reason may be," she explained.

"And you've been able to sense all of this since you saw the two shinigami in my room?"

"No, since my eighteenth birthday. A little cliché don't you think? Girl comes of age and is gifted with special powers and a few more curves than she had before," Noriko replied.

Light laughed. "A little cliché, but you look amazing, you always have though in my eyes."

"I never did understand that. I was always so tomboyish and plain, and you were the guy in school every girl wanted and drooled over. I never thought about it though, you were mine as far as I was concerned, I guess I just never really noticed until we started going out. I loved you so much, I never said that often, but I did. I would have done anything for you Light."

"I haven't changed, Noriko," he said as he rose from the swing and stepped behind her. He hugged her to his chest, but she didn't respond. "I'm still your, Light. I still love you, I want to make you mine. Forever."

She shook her head, pulling away from him as she stood up and turned to face him. "No. You're not my Light anymore, and I will not be yours. I will stop you, I will stop Kira. I was a fool to think I could convince you to stop what you're doing. I was almost going to promise myself to you, just to save them, but I won't. I can't. I will protect them. Somehow, I will find a way and I will save them."

"You've changed so much since the last time I saw you. I hope you can save them Noriko, they are innocent and I don't want them to die, but if it's for the sake of a better world two lives aren't much of a sacrifice."

"I don't want your better world, I'm perfectly happy in this one," she replied before turning to pick up her heels and walk away. "Have a nice walk back to headquarters. I'll see you tomorrow."

Light watched her go, he was completely relaxed as a small smile tweaked up the corners of his lips. 'You are mine Noriko, you just don't realize it yet. You still love me, I just have to make you remember that.'

* * *

Noriko smiled at Lisa and hugged her tightly. "I'll keep in touch, I promise," she said as she stepped back and glanced at Reiji.

He was watching her and Lisa wordlessly from his doorway, his face blank and his posture tense.

"Well I guess I should go," Noriko said, stepping away from Lisa and towards the door.

"I'll walk you down to your car," Reiji offered.

"Thank you, sorry I won't be around for Halloween in two days. Bye Lisa," she waved to Lisa who smiled sadly and waved back.

Nothing was said as Reiji and Noriko made their way down to the parking garage and to Noriko's car that was packed with her things. Most of their talking had been done the night before when she had returned home to find him still awake, waiting for her on the couch. She had immediately told him her plans to leave and move into the task force headquarters, at first he hadn't responded, but then he just told her that she should do what she felt was necessary. They had gone to bed not long after that, both drained from the day and it's dramatic activities.

The morning had been quiet, not tense, but sort of sad and withdrawn on both their parts. Noriko had packed her things in boxes she had picked up on the way back the night before, and with Reiji's help had loaded them into her car. After that she had decided to go into the office and pick up a few things there and say goodbye to Lisa, who she knew would probably hunt her down if she didn't.

Noriko bit at the inside of her bottom lip as they stopped by her car. "I don't really know what to say except thank you. You've done so much for me, I really wish I could pay you back somehow, but-"

"Don't worry about it. Take care of yourself, Noriko, if anything happens, get out of there. You'll always have a job and a place to stay as long as I have anything to say about it," he said.

"Thanks," she replied as she turned to get in her car before turning back around and leaning up to kiss him. She smiled when she pulled away a few seconds later, taking his hand that he had set on her cheek and kissing it lightly before she got in her car without another word.

Tears pricked at her eyes and she blinked them back as she started the car and drove to her new home, and the place where all her recent nightmares took place.

"Did you love him?"

"Hey to you to dad," she said after sniffing and wiping her eyes.

"Noriko," he sighed.

"I don't want to talk about it. And to answer your question, I don't know. I barely knew him," she replied.

"You were pretty attached to him though."

"He was the only stable thing in my life for awhile, I don't want to let that go."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do."

"You're still only human, Noriko, you aren't a super hero. No one expects you to-"

"I won't let them die. They're good people dad, I have to do something."

"It's not Light that is a threat to them, or even Misa Amane, it's the shinigami Rem."

"I know that, I just don't know what to do."

"I'm afraid that's something you have to figure out on your own, I can't help you. Just be careful Noriko, I love you."

"I love you too dad," she replied as he disappeared slowly.

* * *

Noriko had to park across the street from the task force headquarters and walk to the front entrance since she had no way to get to the parking lot without someone else or any way to get through the clearance system yet. She sighed as she set the alarm on her car and jogged across the street.

"Oh come on," she moaned when she neared the thick glass doors to see Light hugging a tearful Misa who was carrying some of her things with her.

Walking up to the glass, she tapped on it, loudly, disrupting the hug and making Misa turn to glare at her, she smiled arrogantly and waved. Misa's anger grew when Light stepped around her to open the door for Noriko, she huffed and even growled before stomping over to them.

"Stay away from my, Light," Misa snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

Noriko raised an amused brow at the girl. "No problem."

"Misa," Light sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "We've been through this, I'm not your Light. You just decided that on your own."

Misa pouted angrily. "But you told me you loved me."

"No, I didn't."

"Aw, come on Light, you're being a little harsh. The girl is clearly in love with you, and didn't you say yesterday that you wanted to be able to see her outside of here?" Noriko asked innocently.

"Really," Misa squealed.

"Yup, that's what he said," Noriko replied, smiling at Light and the disgruntled look in his eyes before walking past him and to the elevator lobby where Matsuda was crying while Mr Yagami, Mogi and Aizawa shook their heads at him. "What's with him," she asked Aizawa as she jerked a thumb at Matsuda.

"He misses Misa," he replied.

"Of course he does. So where do I find Watari? I need to get my stuff moved in and unpacked," she said.

"I'll take you," Mr Yagami offered.

"Thanks."

"Light really cares about you Noriko, he's been a mess this whole time, thinking that you-"

"Not to be rude Mr Yagami, but I don't want to talk about Light. I've moved on, seems he has too, willingly or not," she said. They were in an elevator by themselves, Noriko paying little attention to anything while Mr Yagami tried to have a serious conversation with her.

The older man sighed. "You should give him another chance Noriko, he's thought of nothing but you."

"A little obsessive, don't you think?"

"This isn't something to joke about."

"I'm not joking."

"Just think about it, Noriko."

"Sure," she replied as she followed him out of the elevator and down a brightly lit hallway.

Mr Yagami stopped at an unmarked door and knocked softly. Watari opened the door a few moments later, a smile on his face as he looked down at Noriko.

"Why hello dear, it's been awhile hasn't it? Come on in," he said as he held the door open for her.

"Hi Watari," she greeted happily as she walked in, only to stop in her tracks when she realized where she was.

"Thank you Mr Yagami, I'll take care of her from here," she heard Watari say before the door closed, snapping her out of her stupor.

She swallowed and shook off the cold chill that had overcome her when she looked down at the spot where she had seen the kind old man's body in her nightmares. She looked around at all the monitors on the walls and the computer equipment with a slight sense of awe, it really was impressive when you actually got to look at it.

"Would like some tea, it's Earl Grey, my favorite," he offered.

"Please," she replied, taking the offered cup of hot tea. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. So I hear you'll be staying with us again."

"Yes, I thought that I might actually be useful now that I know a little but more about how Kira kills. I want to help and I think I'll be able to handle being around Light now. Besides, I've missed you and Ryuzaki."

"It was a bit lonely without you around, especially for Ryuzaki. He will never admit it, but I think he grew used to your company. He was quieter than usual after you left."

"I'll have to make up for that than and pester him nonstop for days. Although since he rarely sleeps I think I will need a lot of coffee," Noriko replied, a thoughtful, but tricky grin on her fce.

Watari chuckled at her antics for a moment and then set his tea cup down and turned to one of the many computers. "Well young lady we should get you into your apartment so you can get settled. There's a lot open as I'm sure you can imagine, but seeing as how Ryuzaki figured you would want to distance yourself from Light and the rest of the task force, I have a few different things for you to see."

"I'm really not that picky. Anything will do."

* * *

After unpacking, Noriko had made her way down to the investigation room to find Ryuzaki sulking on the sofa, a wide array of sweets before him while Light and the others sat at the long desk doing various things, all of them relating to the Kira case of course. Walking over to the two sofas, she plopped down opposite Ryuzaki and grabbed a piece of fudge and tossed it into her mouth, she received a small frown from Ryuzaki.

"That was the last piece," he informed her.

"I know," she replied, blinking at him a few times. "That's why I ate it, obviously. You've already had plenty I'm sure anyway."

He didn't respond, instead he reached for a chocolate covered strawberry, but Noriko, seeing this was what he was going for grabbed the tray and a strawberry. She took a bite and looked right at Ryuzaki.

"These are good," she said.

"Yes, I know," he grumbled.

"Oh cheer up, Ryuzaki," she told him, setting the tray back down. "It's not like you to sulk."

"I'm not sulking."

"Uh huh. So did you miss me?" She asked.

"Not particularly. I somehow seemed to be cleaner and less...sugary."

"That's not what Watari said."

"Watari needs to mind his own business," the dark eyed detective grumbled, tossing a chocolate into his mouth and munching on it boredly.

"Maybe you just need to lighten up, everyone may not be on your side, but I am. That's gotta count for something, right?" She watched him shrug and raised a brow.

"I suppose."

Noriko stared at him for a moment as he munched on sweets and continued to sulk, occasionally watching Light as if searching for something.

"Ok, that's it. You're coming with me." Having had enough of the world's greatest detective and his pouting, Noriko stood up and stared expectantly at Ryuzaki.

He looked up at her with his dark eyes for a moment before ignoring her request and going back to his sweets.

"There's cake involved," she sing songed. "Strawberry shortcake. I just so happened to stop at a bakery on my way here."

The detective brightened slightly, he stood up on the couch and then stepped down while shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Thought so," Noriko grinned triumphantly, leading him to the elevator.

Light watched discreetly as the two left, a small smirk on his face.

* * *

As the next few days wore on Noriko and Ryuzaki would meet for a few hours a day and go back through all the evidence on the Kira case that pointed to Light and Misa. Unfortunately, there was always something that never quite added up, they needed new evidence, anything new, but there was nothing.

Noriko was always with Ryuzaki, even outside of their personal meetings, something that Light never failed to notice and after the Halloween they had had with a drunk Noriko and Ryuzaki taking turns punching him, he wasn't too keen about their closeness. She had been there for a total of six days, it was now November 4th and they had no new information whatsoever. She slept little and was always by his side, they worked separately from everyone else and would usually close whatever screens on the computer they were looking at whenever someone came to talk to one of them. They fought almost as often as Ryuzaki ate sweets, well it was more like playful bickering, that both seemed to enjoy judging by the smirk on Noriko's face and the light in Ryuzaki's eyes.

"Hey, do you think there's something going on between Noriko and Ryuzaki?" Matsuda whispered conspiratorially to Aizawa.

Aizawa glanced over at the two, Noriko was grinning at Ryuzaki who was glaring at her since she had just eaten the last bite of angel food cake while looking him straight in the eye.

"That was uncalled for, Nori-san," Ryuzaki told her, annoyed.

"What was uncalled for, Ryuzaki, was you finishing the last of the chocolate cake. Don't you know anything about women and chocolate?" She asked pointedly.

"Aside from another round of their usual bickering, no," Aizawa replied.

"I think Ryuzaki likes her," Matsuda theorized, continuing to watch the two.

"Why don't you actually do your work and stop spying," Mr Yagami suggested, he came up behind the young man and gave him a stern look.

Matsuda chuckled and blushed before glancing up at the sound of a beep. "Oh hey. Look it's Misa Misa."

Noriko's head shot up and she looked at the screen that the small blond was on, she was waiting outside the front doors for Light, who Noriko glanced at next. She hadn't failed to notice that a few hours before another shinigami had entered the human world after the threatening feeling she had felt for days suddenly became a full blown dangerous and very real threat after another Death Note was brought into the picture. There was no doubt in her mind that Misa was the one who had picked up the Death Note and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw that Ryuk was hovering around just behind the girl.

"I guess I should go see her," Light said as he turned to make his way out.

"Hey Light," Noriko called, when the brown eyed boy turned to her she tossed an apple from her left over lunch at him, which he caught easily. "I'm not going to eat it, your little model looks like she could use it," she commented before going back to the monitor in front of her.

* * *

"This notebook has a piece of the page ripped out, will it still kill if someone's name is written on it?" Ryuzaki asked Rem.

Noriko sighed and leaned into the couch, it was usual for Ryuzaki to break off from their little investigation and question Rem, but it was a waste of time in her opinion. He wasn't getting straight answers or truthful ones, and while she tried to press Rem since she knew she was lying, it didn't do her much good.

Her eyes flickered to Light as he walked back into the room after his brief meeting with Misa in the lobby.

"That was fast Light-kun," Ryuzaki noted.

"Huh?"

"You're free now, yet you hardly ever leave. Misa comes to see you, but you only talk to her briefly, you can have a love life you know," Ryuzaki said.

"I'm not in love with Misa, Ryuzaki," Light replied. "Or is it that you just don't want me here?"

"No..."

Noriko watched Light walk back to the computer he'd been using with a frown. He rarely left and he was always watching her and Ryuzaki, it made her feel a little like a prisoner and she didn't like it.

* * *

"What, the criminals have started dying again?!" Matsuda shouted at the same moment that Noriko walked in.

It was now November 5th and she had been with the team for an entire week. Looking up from fixing the sleeve of her sweater, she saw that everyone was huddled around one of the computer screens.

"Sixteen just last night," Matsuda proclaimed, pointing at a computer screen for extra emphasis.

"All the ones that have been shown since Higuchi died," Aizawa commented, a thoughtful look on his face as he studied the lists of names.

"Kira again, dammit," Light cursed vehemently.

Noriko narrowed her eyes and walked forward, she grabbed a chair and sat beside Ryuzaki while Matsuda, Mogi and Mr Yagami talked amongst themselves.

"And this happens just after Misa is freed," Ryuzaki said as he bit the head off an animal cookie.

"You're still saying that Ryuzaki," Light replied irritably.

"It's a fact, Light, something even you should have noticed," Noriko snapped in the detective's defense.

"This has nothing to do with Misa, she was already suspected of being the second Kira. Even if-"

"You're awfully eager to defend her," Noriko cut in.

"She's already been proven innocent," Light replied.

"No, there's no doubt she was the second Kira, there was plenty of evidence to support this fact, just not enough."

"That's enough you two," Mr Yagami interrupted. "Light is right. We need to forget about Amane. Those who use the notebook die if they don't continue to write names, yet she is still alive. She can't be the second Kira."

"Yeah, you are too obsessed with your theories, Ryuzaki. You keep trying to go back to them," Aizawa pointed out.

"Yes, I apologize....Well, if there's another notebook out there that someone is using, I'll catch that person."

"And I'll help," Noriko chirped, throwing a challenging smile at Light. She noticed an odd smile on his face as he glanced back at the shinigami that was behind them. Nothing seemed amiss so she ignored it for the time being.

"We're talking about a notebook that kills a person if their name is written it. If only criminals die again, it will be harder to track them down then it was with Higuchi," Mr Yagami explained.

"We know how the killing is done now. If we find anyone who may be suspicious we question them and thoroughly examine whether or not they have the notebook," Ryuzaki replied.

"But Ryuzaki, I believe this murder notebook to be real, but even if we catch the person writing names, will we be able to punish them as a serial killer?" Light asked.

Noriko looked over at him curiously. 'Why does he want to know that? What does the punishment have to do with anything at the moment?' She thought.

"Not unless the murder notebook's effectiveness is proven. But that is meaningless to me, once the case is solved it will be up to the court system," he replied.

"Of course you could punish him without using the notebook," Matsuda began only to be cut off by Mr Yagami.

"For that we'd have to introduce the notebook as evidence."

"I'm not talking about that. This person is using the notebook, knowing it will kill people. If we don't want the existence of the notebook revealed, the suspect could be executed in secret."

"It's harsh, but it's likely what the higher ups would decide," Aizawa commented.

"If he were to admit to using the notebook to kill, he would get the death penalty or life in prison at the least. If he doesn't then we could always force him to write his own name in the notebook-"

"Is there a reason why were talking about this," Noriko asked, cutting Ryuzaki off and getting several surprised stares, the conversation was bothering her, it was too close to the one in her dreams that she always overheard. "I mean, we haven't caught him yet, so what difference does it make right now?"

"Yeah, Noriko's right," Light replied. "We should focus on finding him for now, sorry for bringing it up."

'He wouldn't have brought it up if there wasn't a reason for it,' Noriko thought. 'So why bring it-'

"I don't care what country, let's contact them. There should be no problem if we're up front about it," Ryuzaki was saying to the microphone near his computer.

"What are you doing?" She asked, an edge of panic in her voice when she spun around to stare wide eyed at the man crouched in the desk chair next to her.

"We'll have them use the notebook in an execution," he said, answering her question while telling Watari why he was contacting another country.

She was out of her seat, chair skidding across the floor, she glanced at Light and to Rem before looking at the wall that separated them from Watari. Her reaction wasn't noticed, or was at least over looked, everyone else was as shocked as she was, for different reasons though, as they started arguing with Ryuzaki.

"Noriko," Light shouted at her as she suddenly bolted from the room.

"It's no use, Watari will do as I say," Ryuzaki said.

No one had noticed that Rem was no longer in the room with them, hovering behind them as she had been for nearly a week now.

Noriko sprinted down the hall to Watari's room and tried to open the door only to find it locked. "Dammit," she yelled as she pounded her fist against it.

"Calm down, Noriko," a voice said from beside her.

She looked over to see her dad smiling at her. "She's going to kill him," Noriko argued.

He shook his head. "I'll watch over him. You have someone else to worry about."

"L," she whispered before sprinting back to the investigation room. She threw the door open and ran up to him just as his back stiffened and he gasped in pain. "No," she shouted, skidding to a stop next to him. "Ryuzaki," she called frantically as she grabbed his shoulder.

She cried out in alarm when he began to fall over, she caught him in her arms and was able to lower him to the ground gently. All her dreams and failed attempts to save him came back to her when she placed a hand over his chest and all of his pain became hers. She clenched her jaw and screwed her eyes shut as wave after wave of pain washed over her.

'What do I do?' She thought over and over as she rocked herself and Ryuzaki slowly. She was vaguely aware that someone else was beside her, she opened her eyes to look at Light who was kneeling beside them. He looked worried and frightened, but she knew better when a small smile appeared on his face.

"No," she screamed at him tears filling her eyes.

Light's eyes flicked up to her before widening when he noticed the set of beautiful silvery wings that had suddenly sprouted from her back and were engulfing her and Ryuzaki in a soft white light. He looked around to see if anyone else had noticed this, but knew that to all but him, the wings were invisible.

"I will not let you die," she whispered to Ryuzaki who was looking up at her through pained eyes.

"I was right," he said he slowly.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry," she murmured, leaning her head over his so that her hair was tickling his nose. His heart beat was growing weaker under her hand, his was body slackening and becoming tired from the strain that was being put on it, she tried to focus on somehow making that all go away.

"What....are..." his voice trailed off and Noriko looked at him to see that his eyes were staring at the two wings that engulfed them.

She smiled softly at him. "I'm here to protect you, Ryuzaki, now don't die on me. Please don't die."

A strange feeling washed over her, it was warm, comforting and in that moment she felt certain that everything was going to be alright and that Ryuzaki was going to survive. Until she looked into his eyes. They were becoming dull and glassy and beginning to slowly droop shut.

"Ryuzaki," she asked, her voice shaking. "Ryuzaki, stay awake. Please, you have to stay awake."

A choked sob broke through her lips as his eyes closed and his whole body went limp.

"Noriko," a soft voice said from behind her and a hand was paced on her shoulder. "We need to get him to the hospital. I'm going with him, you need to let him go."

It was Mr Yagami, but she refused to relinquish the fading body in her arms and her sobs grew louder as she cradled him carefully against her chest.

"Nori," she heard Light say softly, sadly. "You have to let him go."

"No," she whispered, rocking back and forth with the raven haired man in her arm.

"Nori," Light coaxed gently again, he reached around her to grab her arms and pull them off of Ryuzaki.

"No," she said again, only louder, before she whirled around to face Light, tears streaming down her face. "You," she hissed. "This is all because of you."

"Calm down, Noriko, everything will be alright," he assured her, wrapping his arms around her.

She didn't push him away, or try to get out of his grasp, instead she cried into his shoulder as Ryuzaki's body was taken by the paramedics and Mr Yagami left with them. She had failed, Ryuzaki was dying and Light had won.

What she would do now, she didn't know. It would be hard to prove Light was Kira with the only person who believed it dead and the rest of the task force supporting the very person they were trying to catch without knowing it. Over the next several hours, she hoped and prayed that Mr Yagami would return with news that Ryuzaki had lived that somehow he had been spared. She sat by herself, hunched up in a desk chair, staring blankly at the black computer screen in front of her.

When Mr Yagami returned finally, Noriko didn't turn to look to him as he said the words she feared to hear.

"Ryuzaki is dead."

She stifled the sob that knotted up in her throat. "Watari?" She asked quietly through numb lips. It seemed even her father hadn't been able to help the old man, everything had gone horribly wrong and she had no idea what to do.

Light turned to her from the couch he sat on and glanced up to his father who shook his head. "He was in critical condition, but he isn't expected to make it through the night."

"Excuse me," she muttered, standing slowly to make her way to the elevators so she could go to her room.

Light watched her leave sadly before he hastily got up from his spot on the couch. "Get out here shinigami!" He yelled angrily. "Where are you?! You must know something!"

When he took off in search of the shinigami the other four followed, all splitting up to search for the missing being.

Once he was alone, Light let himself into the small room that housed all of the computer databases and other equipment. It was the room Rem had disappeared into before L and Watari had both collapsed. Inside was nothing out of place until his eyes settled on a pile of sand and a black notebook. A smirk found it's way to his lips as he picked up the notebook and looked it over. The triumphant smile faded when his brown eyes found the page that had three names scribbled on it.

It wasn't hard to figure who the first two belonged to. L Lawliet and Quillish Wammy, it was easy enough to figure the first was L's full name and the second, Watari's real name. The third name however should never have been written down, but he figured it was Rem's attempt at some sort of revenge.

The final name written in barely legible scrawl was Noriko Mori.

Light wanted to be angry, but he knew that Noriko would have been dead by now if the notebook actually affected her.

"So she really can't be killed by the notebook, huh? Interesting." He said to himself before tucking the notebook into the back of his pants and hiding it under his shirt. 'Now all I have to figure out is if she can sense when one person has more than one notebook...' he thought before calling in the others to show them what he had found.

* * *

Please review!


	34. Chapter 34 Decisions, Decisions

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

You're spoiled.....

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**Chapter 34**

**Decisions, Decisions**

Noriko spent the next day in her apartment curled up in her bed trying to figure out just what she was supposed to do now. With L and Watari dead and no one alive who suspected Light as Kira, she had very few options.

The thought of going back to living with Reiji and just forgetting about Kira and the investigation was constantly on her mind, but she couldn't do that. Staying had crossed her mind, but the only thing with that was she doubted she would be able to stay in the building since L was dead, she had no idea what would become of it after all. She had enough money to get herself a place for a few months and she had yet to claim the money that was left to her by her dad. How much there was was still unknown to her at the moment, but it wouldn't be hard to talk to the lawyer who was in charge of it.

The more she thought about what she should do the more she realized just how bad of a situation she was in. Light now had no one in his way of creating a new world and she highly doubted he would let her out of his sight. He would think of something, she knew it and it frightened her. That kept bringing her back to Reiji and then to the other Yotsuba employees who had been involved in the meetings. Light wouldn't want them to live even though they had been forced into the meetings, they knew too much and it would be dangerous if any of them spoke about their experiences.

After spending the entire day and most of the night in a semi-comatose state, Noriko managed to drag herself out of bed and into the bath. Everything seemed to move in slow motion, the water as the tub filled, herself as she tried to go through the usual motions of bathing and then getting dressed and brushing her hair. She wandered into her kitchen and got a cup of hot tea before she walked out to her balcony to watch the sun rise over the buildings and clear away the gloom that seemed to have settled over everything.

How long she sat there she didn't know, but her tea had gone cold and the sun was fully up when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her. She stiffened and gasped when a chin was rested on her shoulder.

"How did you get in here?" Noriko inquired blandly, breaking out of Light's grasp and moving aside.

"I made a key, everyone was really worried. We haven't seen you for over a day."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine," he replied as he tried to brush some of her hair from her face, but she turned away. Light sighed and lowered his hand. "You really do hate me, don't you,, Noriko?"

"I don't know anymore Light. It's all too much for me. I don't agree with what you're doing, what you've done, but I can't do anything to stop you. I couldn't even save them, I couldn't.." she trailed off and her body began to shake and her head bowed as she started to cry.

"Nori," Light uttered quietly, gathering in his arms and holding her to him. "I'm sorry, I really am. I didn't want any of this to happen."

"Then stop," she pleaded through her sobs.

"I don't have a notebook, you know that."

"I know it's not in your _possession_, but I'm sure you have a plan to get it back and even if you don't, Misa has one and that girl would do anything you told her."

"I'll tell her to give it up."

"You're lying, I'm not stupid Light. You were so set on creating a new world, why would you stop now?! There is nothing stopping you now. That shinigami is gone, L is gone, and I can't do a damn thing to stop you," she argued, pushing him away from her as hot, salty tears rained down her cheeks. "So tell me Light, why the hell would-"

"I would do it for you, Noriko," Light cut in, grabbing her upper arms to steady the emotional girl.

She shook her head and tried to wipe away her tears. "Liar."

"I'm not lying, Noriko. I love you, I will find another way to make the world a better place. A way that you won't hate me for."

Noriko broke out of Light's grip and ran past him to her room. She slammed and locked the door behind her.

Light pleaded with her for several minutes to get her to open the door, but she refused. She wound up crying herself to sleep after she managed to make her way to her bed.

* * *

As the days wore on, Light continued to try and convince Noriko, when they weren't around the others anyway, that he had meant what he had said. He promised that he would convince Misa to give up the Death Note in her possession and that he would find another way to create a better world.

Noriko found herself wanting to believe his words more than she had thought possible and her confusion only grew each day. Having known him for so long it was obvious to her he wasn't lying to her, but she didn't understand why. He had everything he wanted within his grasp. Everyone who could possibly stop him was gone and there was a Death Note that he could easily acquire. It made it that much harder to not believe his words and promises. That was why she had decided to see if he was being honest or not.

The two of them were currently sitting in her living room alone, she was huddled up on her couch while Light sat across from her. They were quiet at the moment, Light didn't want to press Noriko too much too fast for fear that it would only scare her away and was not what he wanted to do. Noriko just didn't have much to say, her thoughts were too erratic and unstable to keep pinned down for long, let alone talk about.

"Prove it," she had said suddenly as she looked up at him and stared him right in the eye.

"What," Light asked, a little confused by her request.

"Have her give up the notebook. I'll be able to tell if it happens or not, and I'll be able to sense whether or not Ryuk leaves the human world. I still think you're up to something, so prove to me that you're not lying and have her give it up."

"And you'll give me another chance?"

"We'll see," she replied.

Two days later, nine days after L and Watari's deaths, Misa Amane gave up ownership of the notebook in her possession after Light had asked her to do so. Ryuk left the human world and the only threat left that Noriko could sense was Light.

Noriko who noticed these things immediately, stood up from her couch in her darkened apartment and proceeded to make her way to the investigation room. Light was there, at the computers as usual when she stepped out of the elevator. She was wearing a black tank top and red pajama bottoms, her feet were bare and the cold of the tile against the soles made her shiver and wrap her arms around herself. Mr Yagami had been the first to notice her standing on the ledge above them, watching them with sad eyes.

"Is everything all right, Noriko," he asked.

Light had turned around as soon as her name was spoken, she nodded as she locked eyes with him. She never responded to the question that had been asked her, but Light stood up. "I'll be back in a little while."

Mr Yagami nodded. "Take your time."

"Thanks dad," Light said before jogging over to Noriko. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just cold," she replied.

"Let's get you back to your apartment then, you look tired," he smiled warmly, put an arm behind her back and led her to the elevator.

"So you did it." She said as they walked into her apartment and Light fumbled to find the switch to turn on the lights in the dark room.

"It wasn't all that easy," he replied, a note of annoyance in his voice.

"I take it she didn't like the fact that you were doing it for another girl?"

"Not really, but I've never liked Misa. She just threw herself at me."

"Ryuk is gone too."

"I figured as much," Light replied.

"That leaves only you," Noriko said.

"What do you mean?"

"You're the only one left in this world with an attachment to a notebook."

"Yeah, but I don't even have the notebook in my possession, I have no way of using it," Light pointed out.

"You killed Higuchi to get your memories back and to gain ownership of the notebook. You can't tell me that you had no plan to get it back after all of this," Noriko retorted.

"You're right I did," Light conceded. "But I told you, Noriko, I want to be with you and I'll do anything to-"

"Then release ownership of it."

"How? I don't even have it to give it up and Rem is gone."

"Then destroy it," Noriko said seriously.

"I can't do that."

"Why? It won't kill anyone who touched it."

"So you knew they were fake rules?" Light asked after a short pause.

"I did. Not all of them are, but it's obvious which those are since I know the truth. Destroy the notebook. It may be locked up somewhere since everyone thinks I might kill us all by trying to burn it again, but I'm sure you know where it is."

"Yeah, but Noriko how am I supposed to convince-"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," she interrupted, pushing herself up from where she had sat on her couch. She walked away from Light and to her bedroom, pausing at the door. "If you want to be with me, Light, then you'll do it."

Once she disappeared into her room, Light smirked arrogantly and let himself out of her apartment. Everything was going as he had planned so far, a few more days and everything would be just the way he wanted it.

* * *

It had now been ten days since L had been secretly laid to rest. Herself, Light and the other four members that were left to the task force all attended a small service for him. It still struck her as odd that even though no harm had been done to his body the coffin had been closed, she figured it had something to do with no one knowing who he was to begin with and just an extra precaution.

Watari's body had been sent to England to be buried. It turned out the elderly man was actually a well known and respected inventor and had done many things to help orphaned children throughout the world.

Noriko had barely spoken to anyone aside from Light and that was only because he was trying to convince her to give him another chance. She usually ignored him, but it was getting harder to do when she saw the hurt and pain she was causing him. As hard as she kept telling herself he was a liar and she didn't want to be near him, her resolve was weakening and it was getting harder to believe those things. Especially now that he had done as he had said and had Misa give up the ownership of the notebook she had owned and even Ryuk had left the human world.

Light was beginning to see the cracks in her attitude and behavior towards him and knew that it was only a matter of time before he would be able to convince her to give him another chance. She was so lost and alone and he was so familiar and willing to be there for her that he knew it wouldn't be long before she realized that and gave in.

At the moment, Noriko was huddled in a desk chair, watching Light who was typing away at the computer a few yards away from her. Matsuda, Aizawa and Mogi were all gathered on the couches on the far side of the room, reading over the newspaper that had a story on Quillish Wammy's death and details about all of the good deeds he had done when he was alive.

Noriko pulled the blanket she had brought with her tighter around herself as she listened to Aizawa read the article. She rested her head on her knees and stared off into nowhere, she was still fairly out of it and hadn't even noticed that tears were silently falling from her now dull and glossy green eyes until Light put a hand on her shoulder.

The touch startled her and made her gasp and jump slightly as she turned her eyes up to Light. He seemed genuinely concerned as he crouched in front of her and brushed the tears from her cheeks. The room had gone completely silent as everyone focused on them.

"Are you all right?" Light asked quietly.

She swallowed and nodded as she backed away from him and wiped at her eyes with the backs of her hands. "Yeah, sorry."

"Don't apologize, Noriko," Light replied. "Are you sure you're all right? Do you want me to take you to your room so you can rest?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I don't really want to be alone right now."

"I'll stay with you then, but you really need to rest, Nori. I know you haven't been sleeping," he said.

Just as she opened her mouth to reply the door opened a tired Mr Yagami walked in.

"Hey, chief welcome back," Matsuda greeted happily.

"So what happened?" Aizawa asked eagerly.

"Well... 'L captured Higuchi as Kira and the killings stopped, but only for four days', they were all over me about that," he replied as he took a seat beside Matsuda. He was referring to the N.P.A, he had just returned from a meeting about the current status of the investigation.

"So, what did they say?" Matsuda asked anxiously.

"I told them we were getting closer to the truth and convinced them to let us continue the investigation, but...I couldn't tell them everything. If they knew that L and Watari were dead we would be forced to stop the investigation again."

"This is ridiculous," Matsuda sighed.

"Yeah, but you know how people are. Always looking out for number one," Aizawa replied.

"Fortunately, we were the only ones who knew what L and Watari looked like," Mr Yagami said.

Noriko looked up, Light was still beside her, standing now as his father spoke.

"I don't understand," Noriko said quietly as she looked up at Light.

"If we want to continue the investigation, we'll have to continue to operate as if L is still in control, right?" Light asked.

"Yes. We'll have to work as if we are still under L's orders," Mr Yagami replied.

"But we can't continue to operate from here," Aizawa spoke up thoughtfully.

"Will you make it Light?" Mr Yagami asked.

Noriko's brows knitted together and she glanced over to Light. She had no idea what was going on.

"Yeah, I'll have most of the data transferred by tonight," he answered.

"What data?" Noriko asked.

"All the files on the Kira case. I'm transferring them to my home computer so we can operate from there. Although I don't really like how I feel like a thief," he said.

"But..." she trailed off and lowered her head. If she brought up the fact that there wasn't anyone capable of being Kira since no one owned a death note aside from Light it would lead to a lot of uncomfortable questions. On top of that the killings hadn't actually stopped yet.

"The only question is who will act as L and Watari?" Light said.

"What are you talking about, Light," Matsuda exclaimed. "It's got to be you, even L said you could be his successor."

'Is this what he wanted?' Noriko thought. 'To be L and Kira all at the same time. It would be the perfect cover. No matter how hard they searched, with Kira among them, they would never find him. So he does have a plan to get the notebook back then, he has to.'

"Well, with this computer and mine at home we should be fine. I can scramble the signal and be L from my own room. It'll be uncomfortable with mom and Sayu around though, it would be better if we could rent an apartment," Light said, sounding reluctant.

"Yeah and Noriko needs a place to stay for awhile, so that would work out nicely," Matsuda added.

"There wouldn't be anything wrong with me renting my son an apartment," Mr Yagami agreed.

"So Light's new place will be the new headquarters," Matsuda declared.

"What about Watari?" Aizawa asked.

"I'll do that too," Light answered.

"Huh?" Was the general response from everyone.

"I'm already going to be playing L's role, so both won't be too difficult. Besides, most of what Watari did was connect people to L."

"I could do that," Noriko spoke up.

Everyone turned to her as if just realizing she was there.

"No, I don't want you involved, Noriko, you've been through enough," Light replied worriedly.

"I agree, Noriko. This is too dangerous and you should be involved as little as possible," Mr Yagami said.

"So, what are we going to do about the notebook?" Mogi asked, since he was fairly silent it was his turn for everyone to stare at him.

"Since destroying it isn't an option we just have one of us hide it in some place no one will ever find it," Light suggested.

Noriko's eyes narrowed and for the first time in days she felt something other than grief and confusion. Anger.

"But who?" Aizawa asked.

"It would have to be someone we trust completely," Light answered. "And who won't tell anyone, even any of us, where it is."

"Chief?" Matsuda asked.

"Huh?" Noriko replied, her anger temporarily forgotten as she turned to Light's dad.

"Yeah, we trust you Chief," Aizawa said.

"Not to sound, uh, rude or anything, but since he's Light's dad aren't any of you worried he would say something to Light?" Noriko asked. "I mean, not that Light is Kira, but..."

"You don't have to worry about that, right dad? You won't tell me where it is," Light asked.

Mr Yagami nodded. "No, I won't tell anyone where it is."

Noriko grew confused over this, she had been certain that Light was up to something, but if Mr Yagami kept to his word and hid the notebook and then never disclosed the location then Light would never have access to it. It was a fact she couldn't ignore. He may not have destroyed it, but he made certain he could never touch it and that Noriko knew it.

"How about it, Noriko?" Light asked, turning to her.

"Hmm?" She looked up at him, blinking away the thoughts that were flying through her brain. He had done it, not quite how she had wanted him too, but he had made sure he wouldn't have access to the notebook. He was no longer Kira and it would soon become apparent that there was no longer a Kira when the killings stopped.

"Will you live with me and give me another chance? I promise not to screw this one up," Light said, a warm smile lifting his lips and brightening his eyes. He then reached behind his neck and undid a necklace he wore that Noriko had never noticed before, hanging from the necklace was a familiar black and white diamond ring.

Noriko could only stare at him as he removed the ring from the chain, unable to answer because she wasn't sure what to say. She did love him and she wanted things to go back to how they had been, but things weren't the same anymore. They had both changed as a result of everything they had been through in the past several months and she would never forget what had happened. But could she forgive him and get past what he had done? Could she really be happy with him again? A part of her wanted to think so and right now that was the part of her that was speaking the loudest.

"Nori?" Light questioned.

She didn't answer, but she nodded and smiled lightly. Light looked ecstatic as did Mr Yagami, Matsuda shouted out a triumphant "Woohoo!" Only to end up laughing nervously when everyone gave him disapproving stares. Light then slipped the engagement ring back on to Noriko's finger. All she could do was stare at the sparkling gems on her hand, she didn't know what to think or feel. A part of her was happy, but another part felt immense guilt for trying to be happy with the man she knew was responsible for so much death.

"If you screw up this time," she said softly, so only he could hear her, her eyes still locked on the ring on her finger. "I'll make sure you pay...." Her eyes flickered to his and a small smile found its way to her face.

'Her trust in me is still low. I'll just have to move carefully for awhile,' Light thought as he smiled and nodded Noriko.

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Please review!


	35. Chapter 35 Control

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note.

* * *

**Chapter 35**

**Control**

"Uh, this is only a one bedroom apartment," Noriko pointed out, emerging from a hallway to step into a rather large, but narrow living room that was full of boxes and a few pieces of furniture.

"Is that a problem?" Light asked as he set down a box he had just brought into the apartment the two would be sharing and the task force would be using as a headquarters.

"Well, yeah," she replied.

"We're going to be married, Noriko, sharing a room shouldn't be a problem. Besides, we've done it before," Light said with a small smirk.

Noriko rolled her eyes. "I hope the couch is comfortable," she mumbled before turning back into the hall.

Light sighed, leaning against a metal railing that led to a loft that was to be used as the task force's meeting area.

"Noriko being difficult again?" Mr Yagami asked with a smile as he walked in.

"Yeah," Light sighed. "It's alright though, Noriko's always been a little difficult."

"I can hear you, you know," Noriko shouted from the bedroom where she was putting her things in the closet and dresser.

Light rolled his eyes playfully and folded his arms over his chest. "It's only been a week since we decided to live together, she's still adjusting. She'll be fine though, we'll be fine."

"I'm glad to hear it. You two deserve some happiness. It looks like everything is in, the rest of the new furniture should be here tomorrow. I'll leave you two to unpack," Mr Yagami said.

"Thanks dad. I'll start working on setting up the computers tomorrow, we should be mostly unpacked by then," Light replied with a quick glance around his new home.

The apartment was on the top level of a nice, secure building. It was rather large, a bit narrow in places, but still very spacious for just he and Noriko. When you first walked in, you walked in to the living room, there was a set of stairs on the right that led to the loft and a hallway to the left that led to the bathroom and bedroom. The kitchen was to the right, under the loft, it was a little small and plain, but still quite nice.

It was painted in cool beiges and warm browns, the floors, except in the bathroom, were all a light wood. There was a large balcony opposite the door, the ceiling above it was slanted slightly and that part was made of glass to allow more natural light to filter into the apartment.

The bedroom Noriko was in was almost completely unpacked. She had been working in there since the morning when they had first begun moving in. The one bed was against the wall to the right of the door, it was draped in a plain dark blue comforter. The furniture in here was relatively plain, dark wood dresser and nightstands as well as several bookshelves against the entry wall. A rug adorned the wooden flooring, it was several shades of blue that were in circles throughout it.

Noriko had just finished unpacking her clothes, the few boxes that were left were Light's and with a small sigh she began to unpack those and put them away as well. Once she finished with that, which didn't take long since everything was folded neatly and all the hanging items had already been hung, she made her way back out to the living room. She lifted an eyebrow when she didn't see Light right away, when she caught sight of him in the kitchen she walked over and leaned against the wall.

"I hope you're hungry," Light said when he turned to see her watching him.

"Not really," Noriko replied disinterestedly, even though she was starving. She eyed the meal that Light was cooking, it looked like a simple dish of rice with pork and vegetables, and smelled delicious.

"Noriko, are you ever going to trust me again," Light asked as he turned back to what he was doing.

"When the killings stop."

"But you said that there was no one out there with a notebook. And from what I know a person can die twenty three days after their name is written, I think that's the limit though. It's only been nine days since Misa gave up ownership, she must have written a bunch of names and dates before she did it."

"Did you tell her to do that so that it-"

"Jeez, Noriko," Light interrupted, turning around to face her. He was frowning and his eyes looked strained, tired. "Why would I tell her to do that? I told you it was hard enough to get her to give up the notebook in the first place since I was doing it for you. She was jealous, she may not be that bright, but she probably thought if the killings continued for awhile you wouldn't trust me. She doesn't know you can sense anyone possessing a notebook, so to her it would seem like a good plan."

"You're right it would be," she replied blandly.

Light sighed and leaned against the counter. "You don't believe me, do you, Nori? You think that I told her to write a bunch of names and dates down so that it would seem like Kira was still active. Why would I do that?"

"Maybe you set things up again. Somehow arranged to get the notebook back to her or someone who would use it."

"Ryuk has the notebook and he's not even in this world, you told me that yourself."

"I did. I already told you though, I can't sense the notebooks themselves only those who possess them. At the moment, the only one in possession of one is you. Maybe you have it set up to get another, I don't know that I'd sense that. So maybe you already have another notebook, Light," Noriko accused, her face blank and her eyes narrowed slightly.

Light let out a bitter laugh and shook his head. "You and L really spent too much time together, you know that. He thought he had me pegged for some ruthless killer and that I would do anything to have my way. That's what you think too, isn't it? You think that I would lie to the one person that means the world to me and go behind your back after I promised you I would find another way to make the world a better place. I can't believe you Nori, you're not the same girl I've always loved. At least she would give me a chance, you're just suspicious and cold. Why did you agree to move in with me, why do you wear that ring," he said as he gestured at the ring on her finger. "If you don't want to trust me, if you don't want to believe in me, then why, Noriko?"

She blinked at him and then down at the ring on her left hand. She moved her fingers a little, the light catching on the gems. "Because I want to Light. I want to believe everything you say, I want you to be my Light again, but..."

Noriko didn't look up as she heard Light click the stove off and then walk towards her. She saw his feet stop next to hers, saw his hands as he put a finger under her chin to force her eyes to look into his.

"Look at me, Nori, I love you and I'm not lying to you. I don't have anything planned other than making you happy and living with you for the rest of my life. You are the most important thing to me, not a notebook that can kill people. Look in my eyes and tell me I'm lying," he said quietly.

Their faces were only a few inches apart as Noriko searched his eyes for some hint as to whether her suspicions were true, but all she saw was love and warmth. Part of her wanted to disregard it all and back away from him, but another part wanted nothing more than to be back in his arms where she had always felt safe. Taking in a shuddering breath and closing her eyes, Noriko lowered her head onto Light's shoulder, his arms were around her immediately, holding her close as he kissed her head tenderly.

'I'm being horrible...How can I keep doubting him, he's done nothing but what he's said he would. I know he loves me, I know he'd do anything for me, so why do I keep doubting him?' She thought to herself as guilt began to eat at her, but this was a different guilt than what she had felt over the past several days. She felt guilty for how she had been treating Light.

"I'm sorry," she whispered against his neck as she leaned up slightly to kiss his jaw. "I've been horrible, there's been so much going on and with L and Watari's-"

"Shhh, it's alright Nori," Light said soothingly as he stroked her hair and hugged her tighter to him. "I know things have been hard on you and I'm so sorry for being the cause of so much of it. I promise to make it up to you somehow. Ok?"

She nodded against his chest and sniffled, she hadn't wanted to cry, but she found it difficult to hold in the tears that threatened to run down her face. So much had happened, so much had changed in such a small amount of time that she was still trying to catch up.

"Let's eat before the food gets cold, alright," Light said as he released her slowly from his grasp, his hands staying on her shoulders to make sure she would be ok to stand on her own.

"Yeah, I'm starving," Noriko replied with a smile.

"Thought you weren't hungry," Light teased.

"And I thought you knew me better," Noriko answered as she went to arrange the chairs around the dining table that was already set up. It was the old one from Light's parents, his mother had wanted a new table so they had gotten the old one. The rest of the furniture they had coming they, well Noriko, had picked out and would arrive the following day.

* * *

Noriko stretched and yawned, but didn't open her eyes until after she realized the other side of the bed was empty and a frown pulled at her lips. Blinking her eyes open and yawning again, she got out of bed and stumbled out of the room.

"Light," she called as she rubbed at her eyes and covered them from the sunlight pouring in through the ceiling. She grumbled a few curses before she heard Light's voice answering her.

"I'm up here Nori."

Noriko frowned up at the loft and slowly made her way up the steps.

"You're up early," Light said as he looked up from hooking up some rather complicated looking equipment.

"Yeah, I'm sort of used to it now from living with Reiji-" she cut herself off with a loud squeak as she stumbled on the last step and went flying forwards.

Luckily, Light had stood up to greet her and was able to catch her, break her fall anyways and they both toppled to the floor, Noriko on top of Light who had his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Ow," Light said after they landed. "At least something about you hasn't changed."

"Hey," she whined. "I'm a klutz, so what? Are you alright?" She asked as she tried to push herself off of him only to realize how close they really were and that her face was hovering centimeters over his.

She swallowed when she saw his eyes slide towards her lips and then back to her eyes. One of Light's arms that had been around her waist snaked its way to the back of her neck and then to her cheek. His thumb brushed over her cheekbone like a feather before pulling her towards him.

Their lips had just locked when there was a sudden knock on the door. They both started, banging their heads together and pulling apart quickly. Noriko sat up and started laughing, rubbing at her forehead. Light shook his head at her and chuckled.

"At least you find it funny," he said in a teasing grumble as he pushed himself up off the floor, he held his hand out out to her and pulled her up.

"The look on your face was pretty good," she replied as she stared up at him with a grin.

"We finally have a moment and someone has to go and ruin it. This better be good."

Noriko followed Light down the stairs and waited to see who was at the door. It turned out to be Mr Yagami, Matsuda, Aizawa and Mogi.

"I hope we weren't interrupting anything," Matsuda said sheepishly.

"Matsuda," Mr Yagami scolded.

"Sorry..."

"No, you weren't," Light replied with a sigh as he held the door open for them.

"Good morning," Noriko said cheerily as they all walked in.

Everyone stopped and looked at her funny, she hadn't been cheery since....Well around them...Months.

"What?" She asked awkwardly.

"Are you alright?" Matsuda asked.

"Uh, yeah," Noriko answered. "Why?"

"Because you're...happy."

Noriko tweaked a brow at him. "Is that a problem?"

Matsuda chuckled nervously and waved a hand at her. "No, no of course not. It's just weird."

"Matsuda," Aizawa and Light snapped making the man shrink a little.

"Yeah, anyways. I'm going to go clean up and then continue with the unpacking. We're already almost done," Noriko said as she walked over to Light gave him a kiss on the cheek and a smile before disappearing down the hall with everyone staring at her in disbelief.

"What did you to Noriko, she's...nice," Matsuda said.

"We talked last night and worked a lot of stuff out."

"I'm happy for you Light, you and Noriko belong together. Your mother is going to want to see her you know. She's been wondering where she's been. I told her that the two of you had a fight after she left the hospital and since she couldn't attend school she had moved in with her grandmother and was working a very busy job," Mr Yagami said.

"I'm sure Noriko's going to want to see her and Sayu too. After all, they have a wedding to plan," Light replied with a content smile.

* * *

Over the next couple of days Noriko and Light began to grow closer again, after almost two weeks it was almost like they had never separated. Except of course they had and the reasons for it were still very much an issue.

The Kira killings were still continuing, but Noriko was beginning to see that none of the new criminals who were in the news were being targeted. It was only criminals who had been reported before Misa had given up ownership of the notebook. This didn't mean much to Noriko at the moment, she wanted more proof that Light was no longer acting as Kira in anyway and had no intention of doing so again. That meant the killings had to stop completely and then never resume as far as she was concerned. Light was fine with this and was happy enough that she was his once again that he didn't press her and the few occasions she would become suspicious of him he handled with patience.

Noriko was letting Light closer to her, but she kept her distance all at the same time. She didn't want to be betrayed and hurt by him again so her guard was up for the time being. They slept in the same bed, but Noriko would rarely cuddle with him or let him hold her. They would occasionally kiss, hold hands, or lean on one another, but it was nothing serious. It was like it always had been for them, they were comfortable with each other and it was easy to fall back into old habits with someone you had known your entire life.

* * *

It had been twenty five days since Misa had given up ownership of the death note in her possession and just over two weeks since she and Light had begun living together. The killings had continued throughout the entire time, but if what Light had said was true then the last of the killings would have taken place two days before. There were reported deaths on the television and in the papers the following day which she had expected, today was the day she didn't expect to see any Kira activity in the news or papers since there shouldn't have been any killings the day before.

She was up early with Light, the members of the task force were set to arrive soon and while she usually left them alone, she planned to stay near by today. If there were no reported deaths the previous day then she would know that Light had told her the truth, the death notes were gone, all except for the one that had been confiscated from Higuchi.

After making a small breakfast for her and Light and turning on the news, Noriko sat around drinking tea and munching on various things in the living room while Light and the task force group talked upstairs. She could hear most of what was being said, and so far there was no indication the killings had stopped. Another few hours went by and Noriko was seriously beginning to think about how Light could possibly be killing people. She knew he didn't have a notebook, his dad had hidden the one and never told anyone where it was located, on top of that no newly reported criminals had died. If Light had been acting as Kira still, she would have expected those criminals to die as well, but they hadn't. Even without confirmation of the killings stopping Noriko was beginning to see that Light had indeed been telling the truth the entire time and that Kira was no longer actively killing people.

It was now mid-afternoon and she was about to go into the kitchen to make a snack when there were several shouts from the loft. She froze near the bottom of the stairs and listened to the five men talk over each other in confusion and excitement.

"There were no deaths yesterday?"

"The few deaths that were reported today were from people who were discovered yesterday, but according to reports appear to have died the day before."

"What's going on?"

"Is he playing with us again?"

Noriko decided to make her way up stairs and stood just in front of the stairs. Everyone was hunched over the few monitors directly in front of her.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"The killings stopped," Matsuda turned to tell to her.

"Really?" She asked, walking forwards to look at the monitors and trying to look and sound as intrigued as possible.

"Yeah, according to the information from the N.P.A and a few other sources, even though there have been reported deaths today the time of death was actually the day before yesterday, not yesterday," Light replied as he glanced up at Noriko and smiled.

"Weird. What do you think is going on? Why would Kira stop killing all of a sudden?" She asked.

Light shook his head. "I don't know, but I think it's a little early to assume that they've stopped entirely. We may have to wait a little longer and see what happens, who knows maybe Kira decided to stop."

"After all he's done though, that seems highly unlikely," Mr Yagami said.

Light shrugged. "I agree. So for now we wait."

"Well I'll leave you to your waiting," Noriko said as she turned to leave. "Oh Light, you don't mind if I go out with a friend of mine today do you? I haven't talked to Lisa in the longest time and I-"

"Actually I was hoping we could go out today, we haven't gotten out much, let alone done anything together in awhile," Light cut in.

"Oh, ok. Sure," she replied a little uncertainly. She hadn't spoken to anyone outside of the five men in the room and Light's mom and sister since she had moved in with Light and was beginning to think that was just how he wanted it.

As it was she was already planning on going back to school full time when the new semester started up in January, less than two months. Light had insisted on helping her find new grants and scholarships and with the new term starting so soon it had been a little difficult, but she had found several and would be able to go back to ToHo University and begin studying again. This time she wasn't so sure she wanted to go into law and was studying business instead. The plan was for her to go back full time, which would leave her little time to do much else. Light was also going to be returning to school so that he could enter the police force like he had wanted.

It didn't bother her that he wanted to spend time with her, it bothered her that he seemed to want to own her still and it didn't sit well with her.

* * *

"You seem a little quiet tonight Noriko, is everything alright?" Light asked as they ate dinner at a quiet family owned restaurant just down the block from their apartment.

"It just seems like you don't want me talking to many people outside of your family. I have friends Light and I want to talk to them," Noriko replied.

"It's not that I don't want you talking to them...It's just...The Yotsuba group was connected to Kira and I don't want anything to happen to you. On top of that, the N.P.A knows Higuchi was Kira for a short time at least and what would they think if they knew the chief's son's fiance was a part of the meetings that decided people's deaths. I think it's better that you distance yourself from your old friends Noriko and make new ones."

"You know as well as I do that those men had no choice, and Lisa wasn't even involved with any of it," she argued, trying to keep her voice down like Light was, but finding it a tad difficult.

"But Namikawa was," Light pointed out.

"And?"

"To be perfectly honest, I don't really like the way you talk about him sometimes. It's like you're in love with him or something."

"And if I was?"

"What was in the past, is in the past. I just don't like the idea of you around him, I'm jealous alright," Light said.

"Alright. Do you still see Misa, or talk to her at all? After all, you voiced your desire to see her outside of the old headquarters," Noriko retorted.

"I haven't talked to her since I asked her to give up the notebook. I have no desire to talk to her either, I love you and I don't want to associate with anyone who would try to come between us."

"So that means I can't talk to my friends?"

"I'm not saying that. I'm just saying that it would be better if you didn't talk to anyone from Yotsuba," Light replied.

"While I can partly understand your reasoning, I don't like it," Noriko said coldly.

"I'm sorry Noriko. It seems I'm still causing you a lot of trouble, even though I'm trying not to," Light replied a little sadly with a wan smile.

Noriko sighed, he was good at making her feel bad that was for sure. "It's alright Light. Now that I think about it anyways, I don't have my old phone and the numbers were in there. I'm not happy about this though, but I'll be busy soon without having to worry about having a life."

"Are you excited about going back to school?"

She lifted an eyebrow at him. "Do you not remember how much I loved school?"

Light chuckled at her. "I remember. I guess I should buy some ear plugs so I won't have to hear you complain every night."

Noriko glared playfully at him before replying. "Hey, you wanted to marry me, you have to deal with it. I'm yours and so are all of my problems and rants."

"That doesn't sound fair. They were mine before we got engaged too," Light teased.

"Why you...." She growled, before reaching across the table to poke him in the shoulder.

The rest of dinner went by without another word about the Kira case, Yotsuba or anything to do with Noriko's life while she was gone. It was spent talking about the future and school as well as the wedding that they had decided to have in July of the next year, during summer break.

Originally they were going to wait until they had finished school, but since they were already living together Light's family had insisted that there would be no harm in having the wedding sooner. They even agreed to pay for most of it.

At first Noriko was extremely hesitant about having the wedding so soon, she was still unsure that Light was being completely honest about his plans to find another way to try and make the world a better place. Now she was a bit more at ease with the idea, spending so much time with him and watching him closely she could tell he had changed. He was more like the Light she had grown up with and had fallen in love with, she had no problem marrying that man, it was the man she had seen while he was Kira that she was leery of. That man seemed to be gone though much to Noriko's liking.

Of course that would mean she would be ridiculously busy over the next few months, going to school, planning a wedding and taking care of the apartment would take up most of her time and leave her little time to do much else. She didn't mind much, she had never been all that social and she liked being busy and having something to do.

It would distract her from her suspicions too and that's what Light was counting on.

* * *

Please review!


	36. Chapter 36 Blackout

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

There's a bit of jumping around in this chapter, I hope no one minds.

* * *

**Chapter 36**

**Blackout**

She bit at her lip and twisted and turned this way and that as she examined herself in the set of full length mirrors in front her. A cream colored strapless dress with an overlay of decorative white lace that had white ribbon that wrapped from the waist to under the bust similar to an obi or corset was what she was so focused on. Mrs. Yagami and Sayu stood a little off to the side, both grinning widely and waiting silently for Noriko's answer on the dress. Slowly, a smile pulled at Noriko's lips and she turned to face them, playing with the long floor length dress.

"I think I've found it," she said happily.

Sayu squealed in delight. "Finally!"

Noriko laughed. "I still had plenty of time to find the right dress. It's only the end of January after all."

"I know, but we've been looking for weeks," Sayu complained.

As she continued to admire the amazing dress, Noriko felt her heart skip a beat and she sucked in a deep breath. Raising a hand to her chest, she leaned forward slightly as her head swam and her vision blurred.

"Are you alright, Noriko," Mrs Yagami asked worriedly.

"Uh..Yeah, I think I just need to eat something, that's all," she replied with a forced chuckle and smile. 'What was that? It was like the feelings I got when Higuchi and Light gained ownership of Death Notes, but I can't feel anything nearby...'

"We're almost done here, just need to have a few adjustments made. It won't be long," Mrs Yagami said reassuringly.

Noriko smiled at her before the older woman went to find the attendant so they could mark out the adjustments for the dress. She closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could on finding the source of her strange feeling a moment before. All she could figure out was that there was someone with a notebook somewhere, but that was it. It wasn't as close as Light and Higuchi had been, it was like it was hidden under an intensely thick fog. 'What's going on?'

* * *

Misa sighed as she plopped herself down on to the plush cream and red couch of her hotel room in Los Angeles, California. She was there for a series of photo shoots that had been planned months ago.

"Light hasn't called me in months. It's all that girl's fault," she pouted aloud to herself.

She glanced to the table to her right and the package that was on top of it. The package had been waiting for her apparently, had been there for a few weeks now. Her curiosity peaked and she sat up and opened the box. All she could find inside was a bunch of white packing peanuts, she dumped them to the floor and a manila envelope fell with it. She picked up the envelope and opened it.

"A notebook?" She questioned as she peered in at the contents. A black notebook was the only item she could see.

She pulled it out and was about to examine it when she gasped and went pale. A single sheet of paper fell from within the notebook and fluttered to the floor. Misa snatched it eagerly and read over it with a growing smile.

"Oh Light," she chirped as she crushed the letter to her chest. "How could I have ever doubted you? I love you and will do what ask. I'll act as Kira while you can't and I will wait for the day we will meet again like you promised!"

* * *

Light had returned from school alone since Noriko was shopping for a dress with his mom and sister. The task force wasn't around as frequently in the past two weeks, there were no new leads and no new deaths for just over a month now. He set his school things down by the couch and went to the kitchen for some tea.

'Misa should have received the death note by now. As long as she follows my instructions everything will go smoothly. I have Rem's notebook and now that another Kira has appeared I will be able to use it without Noriko suspecting anything. Again everything has gone exactly as I planned.'

He smirked as he went back to the living room to start on his homework and wait for Noriko to come home. He was curious as to if she was able to sense that there as once again another 'Kira' or not. He was hoping that there was a limit to her abilities and that with Misa being in the states, Noriko wouldn't be able to sense anything. So he waited.

* * *

"Hey Light," Noriko said a little tiredly as she walked into their apartment to find Light on the couch, hovering over his textbooks with a cup of tea.

"Hey Noriko, you're finally back," he greeted in return with a happy smile as he got up to give her a hug and kiss.

"Yeah, I found a dress today," she said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Is everything alright, Nori," Light asked as he looked down at her.

She frowned and looked out the glass doors to the patio. "I sensed something strange earlier."

"What?"

"I...don't really know," she replied with a shake of her head. "It was like the feeling I got when you and Higuchi became owners of a notebook."

"But that doesn't make any sense. The only notebook in this world is the one my dad hid," Light answered.

"I know that, but.... It's strange, I can't really tell what it is or where it's from. It's like whatever gave me that feeling is buried beneath tons of sand, I don't understand it. I tried to focus on it, but I couldn't get a grasp on it."

"This could be bad," Light said, concerned.

Noriko nodded and looked away again. "Yeah..."

"Are you alright?"

"Fine. It's just bothering me a lot is all. I thought this whole thing was done with and now there may be yet another threat," Noriko replied.

"Don't worry about it, Noriko. Right now there's no proof that there is another Kira, just a feeling. It maybe nothing, ok."

"Ok," she sighed. "I have a lot of homework to get done, do you want me to get a pot of tea?"

"I'll get it for you. Just relax and get started on your work. Do you want anything to eat?" Light asked.

"Do we have any onigiri left?"

"Yeah, I think we have salmon and tuna. Maybe a pickled ume or two," he replied as he headed for the kitchen.

"I'll take the tuna and ume if we have it. I need my munchies while I study," she said as she set her things up on the table across from Light's and plunked down on the floor on the yellow cushion she had there.

* * *

Noriko and Light were just getting back from school and were in the elevator to go to their apartment. They were talking about the wedding and trying to decide where to have it. When the doors to the elevator slid open, they both quieted when they saw that Mr Yagami, Matsuda, Aizawa, Mogi and Ide, who had rejoined the task force after L's death were all gathered in the hallway. Noriko blinked at them and then over to Light, his face sobered and he looked worried.

"Let's go inside," Mr Yagami said calmly as Noriko and Light exited the elevator.

When they got inside, Light and the task force members went up to the loft. Noriko set her things down and stared up at the loft with uncertainty and concern. The things being said were too quiet for her to hear, but she heard Light gasp in surprise. She made her way upstairs slowly and when she saw the looks on everyone's faces, including Light's who was sitting in front of the computers, she went straight to Light's side.

"What's going on," she asked.

"They've started again," Light answered somberly. "The killings."

"What?" Noriko asked in sheer incomprehension, staring wide eyed in disbelief down at Light.

"This morning several of the criminals who have been in the news since Kira stopped killing, have died of heart attacks. There's no doubt that we are dealing with another Kira," Mr Yagami said.

"But...that's not possible," Noriko replied.

"It would seem that it is," Light stated grimly .

"But-"

"Noriko, why don't you get us some tea," Mr Yagami asked kindly, his way of trying to distance her from the investigation she had agreed to stay out of.

She blinked at him and then down at Light, but didn't move.

"I'll help you," Light offered as he stood up and took Noriko's hand to lead her downstairs. "Are you alright Noriko?"

"It's not possible. How can there be another one?"

"Come on," he urged as he lead her through the hall and to their bedroom. "You were saying you don't have much homework tonight and there's no class for you tomorrow so why don't you take a bath and then lay down. I'll check on you in awhile, alright?"

"Yeah, that sounds good," she replied absently.

Light took her face in both hands and forced her dull, worried eyes to meet his. "We'll catch him Noriko. There's no doubt about that, got that? I won't let anything happen to you or anyone you care about again. I can't stand to see you sad. Just have faith in us," he told her with conviction.

She smiled weakly and nodded.

"Good. Get some rest Nori," he said before leaning down to kiss her softly.

She watched him leave the room and for a moment she wondered if he had anything to do with the current Kira. She shook the thought away quickly, she knew what she had sensed the day before and she knew there was no way that Light could possibly have anything to do with the new killings. It made her feel a little guilty that she had doubted him again and with a small frown she went to take a bath.

That night they started again. The nightmares that had stopped plaguing her sleep since just after L's death, around the time Misa gave up the death note, returned to her. They were hazy though, she couldn't figure out what anything was or who the people were, but she knew they were familiar to her. She began waking up drenched in a cold sweat and breathing quickly.

Light was growing more and more worried as the next two months past, Noriko grew quiet and thoughtful, her body thinned as she forgot to do the most simple things, including eating. Her grades were beginning to suffer and she was on the verge of failing several of her classes if she didn't regain her focus soon. By now everyone had noticed Noriko's change and were quickly becoming afraid for the young girl who barely spoke unless spoken to first, and even then it was sometimes hard to get an actual answer from her. The wedding plans were suffering and moving forward slowly, Noriko's attention span was too short to allow for much planning and decision making. Luckily, most of the planning was done and only a few more decisions needed to be made regarding food and floral arrangements.

It was the afternoon of April the 10th and Noriko was staring with little care at several different photos of different floral arrangements that Mrs Yagami and Sayu had picked out. The main color scheme being red and a creamy white that Noriko had decided on. Noriko looked over them blankly, they all looked the same to her. Dull and lifeless with little to no color.

"This one I think," Noriko said as she pushed a picture of ruby red orchids aside. It was a simple centerpiece of a few stems of the orchids in a clear vase.

"I thought you might like that one, and for the bouquet...How about this one?" Mrs Yagami replied cheerfully, trying her best to get more of a reaction out of Noriko.

Noriko stared at the picture of the bouquet, it consisted mainly of cream colored orchids and a few sprigs of red that trailed down a few inches. It really was very pretty, but she just couldn't bring herself to really care. "I like it, the colors are perfect."

Mrs Yagami frowned and looked at Sayu who was openly frowning at Noriko.

"What's been wrong with you lately? It's like you don't want to get married to my brother," Sayu said in that too forward voice that only children got away with using.

"Hmm?" Noriko blinked over to the youngest Yagami who was obviously waiting for an answer to her abrupt question.

"Sayu," Mrs Yagami scolded.

"What? She's been acting all sad and mopey forever," Sayu protested.

"Sorry," Noriko cut in. "I just haven't been feeling all that well. School has had me very busy and I haven't been able to get enough sleep." She smiled a convincingly fake smile and rose from the table they were all seated around. "I really do like those flower arrangements, I love orchids, they're very subtle yet beautiful. I have to go though, Light's going to be home from school soon and he's going to want something to eat before he starts his school work. Thank you for helping me," she said as she gathered her things and headed to the door.

Mrs Yagami and Sayu watched her go quietly, that had been the most she had spoken to either of them in weeks, they were a little stunned.

"Poor Noriko," Sayu sighed.

"She'll be fine. You should do _your_ homework and get ready for dinner," Mrs Yagami replied.

"Oh, do I have to," Sayu whined.

"Yes, you do now get going."

* * *

Noriko hadn't expected to beat Light home, but she had. The task force members were already upstairs, she said a quick hello and then wandered to the kitchen. Since she wasn't all that interested in food, she made herself some tea and went to sit on the patio, huddled up on one of the two bamboo chairs. She sipped at her tea and let her mind wander. As usual her thoughts centered around the strange nightmares that were covered in a dense and dark fog. She tried to analyze the dream again, but couldn't come up with anything new or anything that really told her anything about what she was witnessing.

When Light returned home, he stepped out to see her, scaring her and making her jump when he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. She smiled wanly up at him and he smiled back happily.

"You're going to catch a cold if you stay out here," he scolded.

"I'm fine."

"You make me worry too much, you know that," he replied with a shake of his head.

"Sorry," Noriko supplied.

"I didn't say I minded, but are you okay, Noriko? You've been so distant and you're losing weight. Everyone's getting really worried about you."

"Really," she asked distractedly. "I'm fine, there's nothing to worry about."

"I know you better than that. I also already told you not to worry," Light replied as he sat beside her and cupped her cheeks in his palms. "We will catch Kira. You need to focus on yourself and school, don't worry about anything else."

She smiled weakly. "I know, but those dreams are bothering me. They've never been so hard to see before. Two months I've been having them, but I still don't have the slightest idea what they are or what they're trying to tell me."

"You need to relax, you're stressing yourself too much. Just leave it alone, you'll know when you need to, right?"

"I hope so," Noriko replied.

"I need to get in there. You should come inside too, I don't want you getting sick. I love you Nori."

"Love you too Light."

Light leaned forward to give her a soft, sweet kiss before smiling at her and going inside to join the task force and resume the search for Kira.

Sighing, Noriko looked into the setting sun and watched as the sky changed colors. Yellows and oranges darkened to reds and slowly these darkened to purples and then to several shades of blue that deepened until the entire sky was a blanket of darkness that was littered with twinkling lights and a large, full moon.

It was calming, to watch the night sky and the clouds that rolled across it from time to time, so calming in fact that Noriko fell asleep. Her head was tilted back on to the chair, her knees resting on the arm and her toes dangling over the edge. Light had come out awhile before with a blanket and another cup of hot tea for her, the blanket was draped over her shoulders and the tea was on the small table to her right. She had been awake at the time, but she wasn't willing to leave the peaceful solitude that the night provided. Light didn't argue, he was worried enough about her as it was, he figured letting her do as she pleased was the best thing for her and just constantly reminding her that he loved her and was there for her.

Noriko's at first quiet and peaceful sleep was interrupted by the same dream she had been having for the past two months, only this time every detail was crystal clear. She was in the meeting room back on the nineteenth floor of Yotsuba. Reiji, Ooi, Takahashi, Mido, Shimura and Kida were all there. They seemed to be discussing a new beginning for the company and between themselves. Noriko wasn't visible to the men as she watched from behind Reiji's chair and observed as Reiji stood to shake hands with Shimura and the others, she smiled at the gesture, but the smile quickly faded. Reiji seemed to tense before leaning forward and coughing up a stream of blood. Her eyes widened and everything seemed to slow down and come to an almost complete halt.

"Oh my god," she breathed as she suddenly realized that everyone in the room was in danger, she could sense a strange presence that was circling everyone and trying to wrap itself around them.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Noriko grasped tightly to the back of the chair that Reiji had been sitting in. "What am I supposed to do? I can sense it, I can sense something ominous and dark that's wrapping itself around everyone here..But what am I supposed to do?"

"Calm down."

Noriko's eyes flew open to see her dad sitting nonchalantly on the edge of the desk in front of her.

"D-dad?"

"Hey sweetie," he greeted happily.

"What's going on?" She asked as she looked around and realized that everything was frozen in place. Reiji had begun to fall to the floor and the others were beginning to panic, sensing that they were next.

"You want to save them, right?" He asked.

"Yes, but how am I supposed to do that? I couldn't save L or Watari," she replied, choking back tears as she remembered the look on L's pale face as the man had died in her arms.

"Like I said, calm down. Focus," he said slowly and calmly. "You can sense it, can't you, the darkness floating around the room?"

Noriko took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.

"Can you _see _it?"

Blinking at her dad, she looked around again and shook her head. "No, I don't see-" she cut herself off with a surprised gasp as she realized she could see what looked like thick black fog dancing around the room. Tendrils of the fog had wrapped themselves around Reiji and was preparing to wrap around Shimura and the others, but it hadn't quite grasped them yet. "What is that?"

"Think of it as the spirit of the notebooks, it's what carries out what is written in the notebook," her dad answered. "Now that you can see and sense it, just trust your instincts." His green eyes twinkled and he grinned at her before he shattered before her eyes and disappeared.

At the same instant everything began to move again, Noriko relinquished her grasp on the chair in front of her to fly toward Reiji as he fell. She managed to catch him before his head hit the ground and rest his head in her lap. It surprised her when he actually looked up at her and met her eyes before clenching his eyes shut as his body shuddered violently. Her hands wavered on either side of him and she screwed her eyes shut.

'Trust my instincts?! What the hell is that supposed to mean,' Noriko thought frantically as her fists balled up and she began to panic.

She tried to take a deep, calming breath and focus on the feeling she was getting from the aura that was engulfing the room. She gasped when there was a sudden bright light behind her closed eyes. The light grew bigger and warmed her entire body, filling her with a feeling as serene and calm as a small stream in the spring. Her shaking stopped and her confidence returned as her eyes flew open as her silvery wings spread open around her with a muffled flap and swoosh.

There was a feral hiss from the smoky black fog that was swirling closer and closer to the others, it wavered and retreated slightly, but only for a moment before pressing forward with renewed hunger.

"I made a promise. I will not let Reiji die and I will not let the others die," Noriko growled as she placed her hands over Reiji's heart. There was a bright flash of light and a sense of pain in Noriko's mind, but she pushed past it until all she could feel was a cool warmth like the first summer's breeze.

Reiji's eyes blinked in shock, he stared up at Noriko whose eyes weren't on him but on the black mass that only they could see forming in the center of the room. She carefully laid Reiji's head onto the wooden floor and stood up, her chin rising defiantly and her eyes narrowing. There was a shimmering white and silver light that was beginning to twirl around her body from her feet until it swam around her entire frame and wings. There was a brief pause as the substance in the center of the room prepared to strike out at the ones who had been marked for death by the notebooks.

Noriko didn't blink, or move as she focused her attention on the writhing black cloud, there was something similar to the pulse of a heart and five tendrils of the substance shot off towards the remaining men.

"I already told you," Noriko said authoritatively, not even a hint of doubt in her voice. "They aren't going to die here."

There was another dramatic pulse and shift in the atmosphere around her as her wings beat once and the white and silver light around her flew around the room. It encircled the black aura before a single tendril could reach any of the frightened men that were gathering around Reiji with no idea of the threat that loomed mere feet away.

"Sorry, but you will be the one to die here," Noriko said as she raised a hand in the air, palm down and fingers extended outward. For a brief second nothing happened, the black aura tried to expand and push against the barrier that was keeping it from the souls it was supposed to devour. Noriko never wavered, she curled her fingers in and made a tight fist. The shimmering light closed in on the darkness, there was a loud screech like the howl of the wind on a dark and stormy night, but it dissipated and died slowly. When Noriko reopened her palm a moment later there as a mixture of what looked like black and white glitter that erupted from the center of the room, it swirled around for a moment before there was a soft wooshing noise and it disappeared.

"Namikawa! Hey, call an ambulance," someone shouted.

Noriko gasped and her eyes widened, she blinked as she turned to look at Reiji who still lay on the floor looking over at her with awe. She smiled at him softly before falling to her knees and bring her hands to her chest.

'What was that just now, it was like I wasn't the one controlling my actions...But I saved them...I saved them,' she thought as she looked around the several men that were still breathing and alive. She noticed Reiji's gaze was still on her and she smiled again, "You look like hell."

He chuckled once at her statement and looked away. "And you look like an angel," he said. No one around him seemed to notice what he had said, but Noriko's face went blank in confusion before another smile lit up her face.

"Something like that," she replied.

She pushed herself back up to her feet, wavering slightly when she realized how exhausted her body was. Reiji was being taken by the paramedics now and the others were slowly leaving the room. She looked down at her hands and sighed, she had no idea what had just happened or how she had managed to just save the lives of six people, but she wasn't going to question it.

"Ugh," she groaned as her heart beat painfully, ringing in her ears loudly. Her hands covered her heart as she leaned forward, she let out a piercing cry at the pain that was so suddenly clawing away at her entire body. She felt as if she were being stung by thousands of poisonous insects and fire was slowly spreading throughout her tired body.

"Noriko!"

"Huh?" Her eyes flew open and she was confused to see that she was back on the patio and no longer in the Yotsuba meeting room. "Oh my God," she breathed as her chest tightened painfully and all air was knocked from her lungs. 'How the hell did I miss it? They're here, in Japan...' She thought as she fully awoke with a jolt that sent her tea on the table near her clattering to the ground, in her haste to stand up she fell forward, landing on her hands and knees with a pained cry.

"Noriko," she heard Light shout from inside followed by several sets of heavy, quick footsteps coming down the stairs.

"How, how did I miss it? And why them? No one knows about their involvement except for myself, Light and the task force. So why them?" Noriko mumbled to herself quickly in a voice barely above a whisper when Light crouched next to her and lifted her up so that she was sitting on her calves. She spaced out then as she thought over the meaning of the attempts on the lives of the Yotsuba employees. She became confused as she realized it had all been a dream, a very real, very life like dream, but a dream nonetheless.

"Noriko, what happened? Are you alright?" Light asked as he tried to get her attention, but she was staring off into the night.

It took him a moment, but he noticed that she was clutching her right hand to her chest, red liquid staining her shirt and seeping from the small spaces between her fingers. He took her hand carefully, eliciting a hiss from her as he forced it open. There was a deep gash across her palm as well as several smaller cuts, some that appeared to still have glass in them. When she had fallen, she had landed on pieces of the tea cup that shattered.

"Noriko, look at me," Light pressed.

She blinked away the haze that was clouding her vision and slowly turned her head to look at Light. Something in her mind clicked then and sparked in her eyes. "What happened?" She asked.

"You were screaming then we heard something break and you screamed again," Light answered, he was busy wrapping a towel that his dad had gotten around Noriko's wounded hand.

"Ow.." She winced as Light tightened the towel around her hand. "I was having another dream. I saw it all this time."

"We need to get her to an emergency room, that cut is deep, she's probably going to need stitches," Mr Yagami put in worriedly.

"No. I'm fine," Noriko replied as she tried to snake her hand from Light. "It's not that bad."

"It's not that bad? It won't stop bleeding. Come on, we're going to the hospital," Light said as he stood up and started pulling her to her feet.

"I don't need your help," she snapped, pulling her arm from Light's grasp as she glowered at him.

"What's going on with you, Noriko? You've been out of it for weeks and now you're-"

"They're here Light," she hissed. "In Japan, I don't know how I missed it, how I never sensed it, but I didn't. Kira is in Japan."

"Didn't we already know that," Matsuda quietly asked Mogi.

Her green eyes that were now blazing with life slid over to Matsuda who gulped and chuckled.

"You're not making any sense Noriko. It doesn't matter right now though, we need to get you to the hospital," Light argued.

"I'll go when you answer me one question," she barked. "When Higuchi was captured as Kira, were the other Yotsuba members ever mentioned as accomplices or as having anything to do with the killings at all?"

"The only ones to know about the others' involvement in the meetings are those of us here," Aizawa answered.

"And Misa Misa," Matsuda added.

Noriko's face went blank as the name was said and she turned to Light who was studying her curiously. "Let's go," she said as she walked past him, holding her hand to her chest and snatching her purse with her good hand. "We can take my car, here," she said as she tossed the keys at Light who caught them ease.

Choosing to remain silent in the car on the way to the hospital, Noriko stared out the window thoughtfully. She had no idea what that dream was supposed to mean, but it gave her hope that she would be able to save Reiji and the others when the time came. It also raised a lot of questions for her. The number of people who knew of the involvement of the men she had saved in her dream were limited. Meaning that someone had either leaked information, or someone she already knew was acting as Kira and that's what bothered her. In reality that only left Light and Misa as possibilities for being Kira.

Her first instinct told her Light, but she was forced to brush that off when she realized that she had nothing to base that off of except for the fact that she could sense that he owned a notebook. The fact that she was also now fully aware of someone else in Japan with a death note did little to help that theory, it actually made it even more impossible.

She sighed as they pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked. The hospital wasn't where she wanted to be at the moment, she wanted to be trying to figure out who was acting as Kira again. She already had a very good idea, she just needed to find a way to see for herself if she were right or not.

Light opened her door for her since she didn't want to get blood on anything and helped her out wordlessly. He looked a little angry with her, but Noriko figured she could worry about that later after she had sorted out her thoughts.

Her and Light had to wait to cross through the entryway into the emergency room as an ambulance sped up to the entrance and jolted to a stop. The back doors flew open and two men jumped out as a nurse came running out of a side entrance used by the emergency teams. When the vehicle stopped Noriko walked beside Light and headed towards the main entrance of the hospital.

"Dammit," she cursed quietly when the towel around her hand loosened and fell to the ground. Light was several steps ahead of her by now and as she stood she took a glance to her right where several people were pulling a stretcher carefully from the ambulance. Her breath hitched in her throat and her knees buckled under her weight as all color drained from her face as she stared at the pale, long haired man on the stretcher. "Reiji," she gasped before her entire world went black.

* * *

Please review!


	37. Chapter 37 Prove Me Right

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

This chapter is icky and I'm sorry for making everyone wait so very long for it. I promise to try and make the next one better. I've just been having a lot of issues with this story and what's going to happen. I already know how it's going to end, hell I could write the last few chapters in a matter of hours, but it's the in between stuff I'm having problems with. Go figure.

* * *

**Chapter 37**

**Prove Me Right**

Stealth wasn't something Noriko was too good with, she was too clumsy, even if she was a bit different now, it seemed grace still wasn't something she often possessed. Currently, she was pressed against a bare white wall, trying to not make a single sound in the very quiet hospital as a nurse made her way up the hall, and away from her, to check on something. Once she could no longer hear the woman's shoes clicking quietly against the cold, white and gray tile, Noriko slipped from her spot and bit her lip, tip toeing her way down to the empty nurse's station that was only a few more yards away.

She sighed in relief when she reached her destination and looked around the small desk for some type of room roster so that she could find out where Reiji was. When she had woken up about an hour before she had asked the nurse who had come to check on her when she had pushed the little red button on the control for the bed if she knew anything about Reiji. Unfortunately, the woman wouldn't answer her question, saying it was against hospital policy to give out information on their patients and blah blah blah. Now she was sneaking around dimly lit hospital hallways in a hospital gown and a blue robe she had found in the closet. Her right hand was bandaged and she had a piece of tape on her left wrist to keep the I.V needle in place, it just so happened that Noriko was aware that the I.V fluid tube could be separated from the needle part in her arm. It hadn't been easy, but she had managed to unhook the tube, now she just had to hope that she could get the darn thing back into the part stuck in her wrist later.

"Hah," she cheered, looking around to make sure the nurse wasn't coming back and that no one heard her when she picked up a clipboard that had the names and rooms of the patients in that part of the hospital. She scanned the list, her finger running over the names, she moved her weight from foot to foot, the tile was pretty cold and she was barefoot. "Found you," she whispered, sliding her finger over to find the room number.

Setting the clipboard back down, Noriko started to head back the way she had come from. 'He's only a few doors down from me...Two-thirty-eight, I'm in two-thirty. Well that...crap,' Noriko broke her thoughts short when the sound of footsteps approaching caught her attention.

She looked back the way she had came and chewed on her lip, in order to get back to the hall she had come from she would have to walk past the hall the nurse was walking down to return to the nurse's station that Noriko just so happened to still be standing a few feet from. Her head cocked to the side when the footsteps stopped. Creeping toward the hall quietly as she could, Noriko peaked an eye around the corner and pulled back instantly. The nurse was three doors down, checking a file on a clipboard in front of her.

Noriko sighed in relief when she heard the person turn around and walk in the other direction. With one more glance down the hall to be certain that she was safe to run across the opening, Noriko sprinted back to the hall she had come from and started checking numbers on the doors. She knew which room was hers, it was in the center of the hall, but she wasn't sure which direction the numbers went, up or down.

It didn't take her long to find the right room, it was the corner room, putting him close to the nurse's station. The door was closed and Noriko tried to make not even a single sound as she depressed the cold metal handle and let herself into the dark room. Shutting the door was a little harder, the click as the pieces fell into place sounded deafening to her and she froze for a moment before turning towards the bed in the center of the room.

The machines around the person's still form gave an eerie glow to the already pale face on the pillow. Their noises were comforting though, telling her that the man on the bed was alive, even if it didn't seem like it.

Her bare feet didn't make a single sound as she approached the bed and breathed out the breath she had unconsciously been holding in since she had opened the door. She reached her left hand out and placed it against the sleeping man's cheek, her body seemed to deflate then, all her tension leaving her by simply being able to touch the person and know that this was real and not a dream.

"I'm sorry I couldn't fully protect you, but I kept my promise. You're still alive," Noriko whispered as she sat on the edge of the bed and held Reiji's hand in her own. "And to think it was all just a dream to me."

She didn't want to leave even though she knew she shouldn't be there, he needed to rest undisturbed, but she just couldn't bring herself to move from his side. With a sigh, she rested her head on her left arm, keeping a firm grip on Reiji's hand, staring at his face and the monitors around him. It didn't take long until the rhythmic sounds of his breathing and the machines lulled her off to a peaceful sleep.

When Reiji stirred about an hour later, his brows furrowed. He had no idea where he was, but he could feel a familiar presence beside him and he blinked his dark eyes open to gaze at Noriko's peaceful face. She was sleeping quietly, her head on the edge of his bed, pillowed by her arm. It took his eyes a moment longer to fully adjust to the darkness of the hospital room, when they did he noticed that the small hand that gripped his was bandaged and there were dark bruises under her eyes. He placed his free hand on her head, smoothing her hair gently. She fidgeted slightly, but didn't wake.

Of course it had to be at that moment that a nurse came walking in to check on him, the young woman's eyes blinked at the sleeping Noriko and a frown crossed her rather plain features.

"It's nice to see you're awake, but she shouldn't be in here," the woman said authoritatively and snobbishly.

"Noriko is a good friend of mine, why exactly is she here if you don't mind my asking," Reiji asked the nurse, flashing her a sweet smile.

The nurse blushed and if Noriko had been awake she would have had to force herself not to start laughing at the way women reacted to a smile from the handsome man she had once dated. Not that she could blame the woman, Reiji could be quite charming when he wanted to.

"Well, she cut her hand and needed some stitches, but she fainted outside. She's pretty underweight, the doctor thinks she may have an eating disorder of some kind," the nurse told him, her voice taking a giddier tone as if she were gossiping and back in high school.

"Noriko, an eating disorder, that's highly unlikely. She's quite fond of food," Reiji replied jovially. "Anyways, I don't mind that she's in here and she has trouble sleeping alone, can't you make an exception for now?" Reiji asked, flashing the nurse another small smile.

"W-well...you both need to be resting and she was on a special I.V drip for the night..."

"How about until you finish your rounds? You can come back then and I'll wake her, but she looks so peaceful right now, which is rare for her," Reiji sighed. "I really don't want to wake her yet."

"Alright, but only until my rounds are done. You've got about a half an hour," the nurse said, turning to leave.

The door clicking shut roused Noriko from her sleep and she took in a deep breath, her eyes fluttering open tiredly.

"You're awake," she mumbled sleepily, lifting her head from her arm to yawn and rub at her eyes, she didn't realize immediately that Reiji was frowning at her. Well not at her, but at the ring finger of her left hand. "Ah," she chuckled nervously, tucking her hand into her lap and smiling weakly.

"You're engaged to him, again?"

The disapproval was apparent in Reiji's clipped tone, Noriko winced and looked away from his scrutinizing gaze.

"Um, yeah about that..."

"You don't need to explain anything to me," he cut in dismissively.

"I know, but...He's been there for me and he's changed...Or that's what I'd like to believe anyways," Noriko replied, bowing her head. "Right now, I'm not so sure what to believe. The fact that you and the others were targeted when only a handful of people knew of your involvement with Higuchi when he was acting as Kira is hard to ignore. I'm beginning to think that I may have seriously underestimated him."

"I already told you that if you ever needed a place to go, you would have one."

"You did, but I don't think that I can without endangering you again."

"That's right," Reiji whispered in what Noriko could only explain as awe. "It was you."

"What?" She asked, confused.

"You were there, you were the one in my dream. Or at least I thought that's what it was, but it wasn't was it? You stopped all of us from being killed by Kira, didn't you?"

All she could manage was a shake of her head as her eyes widened. Her mouth opened and closed several times before she could force out any coherent words. "You did see me."

"You were beautiful," he told her, his hand brushing over her cheek as she stared in shock at him.

"Even I thought it was just a dream until I saw you being wheeled into the hospital. I know that in the dream you seemed to see me, but I never thought it was possible for you to actually remember it. You weren't supposed to see any of that," Noriko explained shakily.

"What are you?"

"I...I.." She sighed, hanging her head. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she uttered quietly, looking down at the floor.

"Try me," he challenged.

"Well alright, but you're going to think I'm insane," Noriko said.

"Right now the only reason I think you're insane is because you're wearing that ring again, but why don't you let me decide for myself?"

"Fine," Noriko replied shortly. "Do you remember me telling you, Shimura and Mido about the story my dad used to tell me?" She paused and took a breath that she let out slowly when he nodded. She scooted back in the chair she was in, crossing her legs in front of her and resting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her palms. "Ok, well there's more to it the story than that. Although, to be honest, I don't know if I'm really allowed to be telling people this, but oh well. I suppose I should start by telling you that the Shinigami kill with a notebook called a Death Note, it's simple, they only need to see you to know your name like I've told you, they then write it down and you die and the Shinigami that killed you gets what was left of your lifespan. The Death Note should kill every person whose name is written in it, but you and I are both proof that that isn't always true as is everyone else that was in that room. Anyways, moving on. I told you a bit about the war my dad said the Shinigami started, but I didn't tell you about the family that tried to protect the humans the Shinigami were killing with no reason other than jealousy and envy."

Noriko ran through the now all too familiar story of her family's past, her eyes locked on Reiji's almost the entire time to see just how insane he thought she was. She was relieved to see that there was no suspicion in his eyes as she finished her tale and let out a long sigh.

"I don't quite know how this all works yet, I'm still adjusting to all of this myself. I know that I can't always save people whose names have been written. My friend, Ryuga, he died in my arms and there wasn't anything I could about it, Watari died too," Noriko said sadly, her head drooping under an invisible weight.

"It's not your fault, Noriko. You're only human and you have limitations like we all do."

"I know, but it's still hard to accept. Especially now that I know I'm capable of saving people, I can't help but wonder why they had to die."

Neither one of them said anything after that, Noriko was letting in the information sink in and Reiji was trying to understand everything she had told him. The logical side of him wanted to deny that anything she said was possible, but the rest of him was all to aware of the fact that he knew it wasn't.

"These notebooks are being used to commit the Kira killings, aren't they?" Reiji asked.

"Yes, if the Shinigami happens to drop their notebook and it's picked up by a human, it becomes the property of that human until they return ownership to the Shinigami the notebook belongs to since the Shinigami has to stay with that human or they die," Noriko answered.

"How many notebooks are there?"

"In total, who knows," she shrugged. "It's impossible to tell. In our world right now, I know that there are at least two. One in the possession of someone acting as Kira and they're close too, for awhile I could only sense them as if they were hidden behind a really thick stone wall or something, but not anymore. The other was the one that Higuchi had, Light is technically the owner of that one now, but his father has hidden it and not told anyone where it's at so he doesn't have access to it. I think there's another, one in the possession of a Shinigami because I can sense something, not threatening, mind you, but something. It's probably the Shinigami that is following the current Kira around. The other Shinigami disappeared, the one that owned Higuchi's notebook."

"So what's L doing to catch Kira this time?" Reiji asked.

Noriko jolted slightly, her breath catching in her throat as she blinked up at him in confusion. It took her a minute, but when she noticed the odd, concerned look Reiji was giving her she shook her head. "Sorry, um, he's doing everything he can, but nothing is standing out so far. I'm not really privy to the information anymore, not since I sort of tried to burn one of the Death Notes while everyone was under the impression that if it was destroyed then everyone who had touched it would die. Kind of made myself enemies with that...and then getting drunk and attacking Light with Ry...Ryuga didn't help much," Noriko said, chuckling wanly.

"Sounds like the past few months have been quite interesting for you," Reiji observed wryly.

She shrugged noncommittally, opening her mouth to reply, but being cut off as the door opened and the nurse that had promised to come back after her rounds walked in, throwing a disapproving glare at Noriko and a bright smile at Reiji.

"I guess I should be going," Noriko said slowly, pointing at the door and standing from the chair she had made herself comfortable in.

"Wait, you haven't kept in contact with Lisa or I, how can I get a hold of you," Reiji inquired.

"Um, honestly it would be best if you didn't, but if you really need to... I spend Thursday afternoons, between my classes, so usually from about 1 to 3, in this little coffee shop just south of campus. The Little Latte or something like that. Saturdays I run errands and stop in this family owned bakery just down the street from my apartment at about 9 in the morning, I don't know the name of it, but it's on 22nd and Fuji, right on the corner."

"Well I guess I'll see you around then, Noriko," Reiji smirked.

She smiled and nodded before leaving the room, the nurse following after her to make sure she actually went back to her own room.

* * *

"Your hand should be fine, the stitches are dissolving stitches so unless you have any problems there is no need to come back and have them removed," the gray haired and rather round doctor told a very uninterested Noriko who was staring out the window and Light who was listening intently. "I am quite concerned however about her weight and over all health," the doctor said to Light when it was obvious that Noriko wasn't paying any attention.

"What do you mean," Light asked cautiously.

"It's obvious from looking at her that she's not eating properly or getting enough rest. I'm also worried about how detached she seems to be-"

"I'm not detached," Noriko cut in blandly. "I'm bored and I hate hospitals, so can I go?"

"It comes down to this, she needs to start eating and taking better care of herself. If things continue like this, it is your responsibility as her fiancé to make sure she gets proper treatment for her problems."

"Treatment? There's nothing wrong with me," Noriko argued heatedly.

"Noriko," Light sighed.

"What, Light?" She snapped. "I don't have an eating disorder and you know it."

"Denial is quite common-"

Noriko let out an annoyed cry and threw her hands up in the air. "I'm not denying anything that shouldn't be denied. If you two want to talk about eating disorders I don't have, go ahead. I'll be outside with the rest of the world, denying you exist!"

"Sorry about that," Light chuckled apologetically after Noriko stormed from the room. "The last few months have been hard on her, two of her good friends died and she's juggling school and trying to plan a wedding."

"Yes, understandable. In my opinion you should watch her closely, it sounds as if she may be depressed or suffering from some sort of anxiety disorder. If things get worse you should make sure she gets proper psychiatric help. It might be a good idea for her to consider it anyway, something is keeping her from taking proper care of herself."

"I'll talk to her, thank you doctor."

* * *

Noriko spent most of the car ride staring out the window, glaring at everything as she rested her forehead against the cool glass.

"Are you just going to be ignoring me, Nori?" Light asked.

She scowled at his reflection in the glass as he turned to look at her. "Last night Kira tried to kill the members of the Yotsuba Corporation that were involved in the meetings of death. I stopped them from being killed, I had thought it was all just a dream until I saw Reiji on that stretcher," she replied accusingly. "I managed to talk to him for a little while last night and do you know what? He saw me in the meeting room last night, saw me protect the others from the thing that was trying to kill them and saw me as I kept his heart from bursting from his chest."

"I don't understand, how could he see you?"

"I don't know, but he did. That's not what bothers me, Light," she replied bitterly. "The only ones to know about Yotsuba's involvement with Kira are few and all but one of them are people we see on a daily basis."

"Misa?" Light stated grimly. "You think Kira is Misa?"

"It would make sense, who else would try to kill all those men at the same time?"

"It could have just been a coincidence, Noriko."

"No, Light it couldn't have been. The odds of a new Kira targeting them, especially when this one doesn't seem to be doing anything other than killing criminals, is very small and you know it."

"I admit it's unlikely, but Misa gave up her notebook and I don't really think she's bright enough to think about planning out a way to get it back," Light replied.

"Maybe it wasn't her plan," Noriko pointed out smugly.

"What are you...Oh, I see. You think it was me? You think I somehow arranged for Misa to get the notebook back again."

"I don't know, Light, but I promise you this, if you don't find Kira, I will and I'll make sure they pay."

"I thought you trusted me, Noriko," Light said with a sad shake of his head as he pulled her keys from her ignition after parking the car in the garage of their apartment complex. "I made you a promise, remember? Why would I break that promise when it would mean losing you?"

Noriko turned her green eyes to stare into his brown, guilt washed over her at the look of hurt he was giving her, but she brushed it aside. "I hope you're telling the truth, Light. I want you to be, but you have to understand how this looks to me."

"It is suspicious, Nori, I know that, but there has to be another explanation and I'll find it. I promise, ok," he asked, leaning across the seat to cup her cheek in his hand and rest his forehead on hers as he kept their eyes locked.

"Alright," she sighed, smiling half heartedly when he kissed her.

* * *

As the end of June drew closer and July was just around the corner, Noriko found herself growing very nervous. Not only were finals fast approaching, but so was her wedding date.

Ever since she had told Light she had suspicions that Misa was Kira again, he had attacked the case full force, eager to prove to her that he had nothing to do with what was going on even if it turned out that Misa did. He had everyone combing through all the old files on the case, charting all the deaths in Japan and marking anything that appeared suspicious in anyway so that they could investigate and see if there were any leads. So far every lead he followed came up empty.

He was working himself to the bone, coming to bed late every night, putting off his school work until the last minute which in its self made Noriko think that he really was trying to prove himself to her. The Light she knew would never neglect his education, he was dead set on joining the N.P.A so that he could provide for her and the family he wanted to start with her and to see him putting off such important work made her doubt that he had any connection to the current Kira, even if it was Misa.

In the time since she had seen Reiji in the hospital she had run into him on several occasions while having coffee between classes or stopping for a quick bite to eat before doing her errands every Saturday. It was obvious to her that Reiji was worried about her and none too pleased that she was staying with Light even though she had been suspicious of him and knew what he had done. He liked to remind her of the way she had felt towards him while she had been staying with him, how she had said she would never forgive him, he was curious as to why she would chose to go against her own words. All she could ever tell him was that she loved him and wanted to believe that he had changed, but for some reason the more time she spent around Reiji the harder it was to convince herself of this.

It was a Saturday morning and Noriko was preparing to run her errands for the day, with it being the end of the month she had a few more than usual to do so she was currently gathering up all of her lists and bills and piling them into her purse along with her checkbook. Glancing at the clock, she realized that it was getting close to 9 and she needed to be going, Reiji had talked her into meeting him for a real breakfast downtown since all of their conversations until now seemed hurried and not very personal. The fact that she was doing something behind Light's back didn't even bother her as she hurried to get ready.

"Hey Light, is there anything else you need done, anything you want me to pick up while I'm out?" She called down the hall since he was in the bedroom getting dressed.

"No, don't worry about it. I'm meeting Kenta for lunch later so if I need anything I'll get it then," he answered.

"I thought you normally met Kenta for lunch on Fridays since I'm in class all day," Noriko replied, when he came out of the room a moment later.

"Yeah, but he needs a little extra help with psychology so I told him I'd help him out. I don't think I'll be long, is that alright?"

"Fine, it's the end of the month so I'll probably be gone all day. If you need me, call me, I'll have my phone on. I need to get going though I want to make sure I get to the bakery before they run out of that really good banana nut bread, they sold the last piece just before I got there the last two weekends in a row," Noriko said hurriedly, kissing Light and grabbing her things.

"Can't have you not getting your banana nut fix, get going, I'll be studying all day so if you want to just pick something up for dinner that would probably be nice," Light called after her as she hopped to the door as she slipped on a pair of black shoes.

"Alright, love you Light."

"Love you too," he laughed and shook his head after she had left. "Well at least I know she's got her appetite back."

* * *

Breakfast had been nice, she had been rushing around so much lately that she was only eating whatever she could put straight into her mouth. Meaning lots of fast food and even more onigiri. Her and Reiji talked about everything but the Kira case, mainly her upcoming exams and the fact that she planned on trying to find a job over the summer. The subject of her marriage was conveniently not mentioned throughout the entire meal.

When they were getting ready to leave, she was surprised to realize that it was later than she had thought, it was nearing noon and she still hadn't even started on her errands. She was glad that she was already in the downtown area though, most of her stops were only a short walk from the restaurant.

"Thank you for breakfast, it's the first real meal I've eaten in awhile," Noriko said as her and Reiji exited the restaurant and walked into the crowds of people outside.

"At least you've put some weight back on, I thought it was a bit amusing that the doctor thought you might have an eating disorder. Shows how much he knows you," Reiji replied.

"Hey, I like food, but I can be forgetful alright."

"You forgetting to eat sounds so..wrong," he teased.

"You are being snotty," Noriko snorted stiffly, turning her head away stubbornly as they waked down the street towards the parking garage where Noriko and Reiji had both parked. She had left her stack of bills and random lists in the car so she didn't accidentally knock someone over with a purse the size of a log.

"Is something wrong," Reiji asked, noticing how Noriko was slowing down, her face thoughtful and distant.

"Uh, no...It's just..." She came to a full stop on the sidewalk and looked around in confusion, her eyes scanning the crowds. There was nothing out of the ordinary though so she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Sorry, I just felt like I was being watched by something." She continued walking her eyes darting around the sea of faces before she stopped again, Reiji had to pull her out of the middle of the sidewalk to avoid being trampled by a group of teenagers that weren't paying any attention.

"What's wrong?"

She lifted her hand and pointed across the street where a blond girl in pig tails was giggling childishly as a brown haired boy that looked less than amused, opened the door leading into a small cafe open for her. He didn't know it, but what she was really pointing at was the tall, bony leather clad figure floating in the air behind the blond girl.

"Isn't that Misa Amane?" Reiji inquired as he looked at the girl.

"Yes, with my fiance and a shinigami," Noriko replied, her face hard and her eyes glinting coldly as the three entered the small cafe.

* * *

Please review!


	38. Chapter 38 Day of Confrontations

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

* * *

**Chapter 38**

**Day of Confrontations**

"Hey, Mel. Buddy," a young man with shaggy copper colored hair, a cigarette dangling from his lips and a hand held video game in his hands mumbled to a frustrated blond boy beside him, jabbing him repeatedly with his elbow.

"What, Matt," the blond snapped grumpily, his blue eyes narrowing as he turned to look at his best friend whose eyes were hidden behind a pair of goggles that were currently serving as sunglass.

"It looks like we've got company," Matt said, nodding his head to an auburn haired girl who was on the opposite side of the street, her eyes narrowed and locked on the back of a brown haired boy that was walking into the same cafe he and his friend were about to venture into.

"Well this might have just gotten interesting," the blond remarked with a smirk.

"Don't you think we should call-"

"We're not calling anyone, let her do what she wants, she's not our problem."

"If you say so buddy, but if princess over there gets hurt, it's your ass not mine," Matt grumbled.

"She'll be fine."

"I hope so," Matt sighed, shifting his attention to his video game when they sat down at a table on the opposite side of a partial wall from where the blond with pig tails and her brown haired friend had sat.

* * *

Noriko clenched her jaw as she lowered her shaking hand to her side, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the entrance to the cafe she had just seen Light, Misa and Ryuk enter together. Her emotions were so intense as they swam around in her head, each one fighting to dominate the other that she could honestly say she had no idea how she felt at the moment.

"A Shinigami?" Reiji was saying behind her, pulling her attention away from the door of the cafe.

"Yes. Misa Amane is Kira, again. Not that I'm surprised, I've thought so ever since the failed attempt on your life and the rest of the group at Yotsuba. The bastard lied to me. He told me he had nothing to do with all of this. I'm an idiot," she hissed, her eyes filling with angry tears as her nails dug into her palms painfully. "I should never have believed him."

"What are you going to do?" Reiji asked, deciding it was best not to agree with her, even though he did.

She glanced back at the restaurant, her eyes flickering spitefully. "Teach him a lesson," she replied darkly. "Will you be home later? I have a feeling I'm going to need a place to stay."

"What are you planning on doing, Noriko," Reiji questioned a bit roughly, the way she was talking made him think she was going to do something reckless and it worried him.

"I'll be over in a few hours, if that's alright," she said, ignoring his question and the way he frowned at her answer. "Excuse me," she brushed past him, rejoining the crowds and disappearing from his view in a matter of seconds.

She made her way to the end of the street where there was a stop light and crosswalk. Once the light changed, she walked as calmly as she could across the street and to the cafe, pulling the door open and walking in without hesitation, ignoring the greetings of the staff and the odd looks she got as she made her way to the back. Her heart was beating fiercely in her chest, ringing in her ears as she walked through the restaurant.

It wasn't hard to figure out where Light and Misa were, not with Ryuk boredly hanging upside down above them, he stuck out a bit, to those who could actually see him anyway. When the Shinigami saw her walking towards him, he started chuckling like a giddy child. The chuckles were what made Light look up and follow Ryuk's yellow eyes to the narrow eyed girl that was walking towards them, much like a cat who was hunting a mouse.

"Noriko," he muttered, his eyes widening in shock.

"Care to explain yourself, Light Yagami," Noriko questioned with a rather intimidating smile as she walked up to their table, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

"I-"

Noriko never let him finish, as he stood up from the table her hand flew up, slamming into his cheek with enough force to send him stumbling back a few steps. Misa screeched when he bumped into the table, sending her ice water into her lap.

"You are a liar, a cheat, and most of all a manipulative bastard," Noriko seethed viciously, her cheeks red with anger and her hands shaking.

"How dare you talk to Light like that," Misa cried, her hands on her hips as she tried to glare menacingly at Noriko who stared back at her evenly, one eyebrow raised in a look that clearly said she had no problem hitting the blond entertainer either.

"Shut up, Misa," Light growled, ignoring the pout that she gave him to look pleadingly at a very angry Noriko. "Look, Nori, please-"

"You have no right to speak to me. Now or ever again. I would sooner trust _him_," she hissed, thrusting a finger very close to Ryuk's nose and startling the Shinigami as he continued to hang upside down above them, watching the show they were providing him with interest. "Before I ever thought of believing another word that came from you. I hope you remember what I said would happen if I found out who Kira was, because I will make sure they pay for their crimes and I will make sure _you_ fall with them. This is yours," she stated harshly, pulling her engagement ring from her finger to slam it down on the table beside Light. "I highly suggest that you don't show your face at the apartment for at least two hours, otherwise I don't know that I'll be able to keep my mouth shut about everything I saw here. As for you," she growled, turning her wrath on Misa, who swallowed her attempt to look defiant and backed up a little. "I hope you enjoy your time together. Whatever's left of it anyway."

"Nori, please, it's not what you think," Light called after her as she stalked away from the table.

She spun around when she heard Light trying to scramble after her, her fist clenched as she pivoted on her heel and swung a very graceful punch right at his nose. Light's eyes widened when he realized what was coming, but he didn't have enough time to move aside or block the blow before her fist slammed into his face, there was a rather loud cracking nose and blood immediately began to pour from his damaged nose.

"Nice one," she heard Ryuk chuckle as Light fell to the floor, clutching his nose, Misa freaking out and fussing over him.

Noriko snorted, smirking as she looked up at the Shinigami that was chuckling amusedly. "Thanks Ryuk, see ya around."

"Looking forward to it, you're quite entertaining and much nicer than either one of these two," Ryuk replied with a dramatic sigh.

"Oh, two hours Light, any sooner and I don't guarantee that I won't break something else," Noriko said, spinning on her heel as she reached the doors to the cafe, she smiled smugly at Misa who was gaping at her and looking like she wanted to punch her, but somehow knew it would end badly for her instead of Noriko.

* * *

"I think I'm in love," Matt deadpanned, blinking after the woman that had just thrown what he thought was one of the most beautiful punches he had ever seen as she made her way out of the restaurant.

"Shut up you idiot," his blond companion hissed, although there was a bit of a smirk pulling at his own lips.

"Sorry man, but did you _see_ that Mello?"

"Yes, Matt, I saw it, I do have eyes you know. Now shut up, I can't hear them over your ranting," Mello snapped.

"Ah, right," Matt grumbled. "Work."

Misa was attempting to help Light up, but the young man clearly didn't want her help as he swatted her away and scowled at her. One of the waitresses had brought him a rag and a bag of ice to put over his swollen nose and he went back to the table he and Misa had been sitting at to pick up the ring Noriko had left on the table.

"What are we gonna do, Light," Misa whispered frantically.

"You aren't going to do anything, I'll deal with Noriko. She'll see just how manipulative I can be," Light replied in a hushed but angry voice.

Matt and Mello exchanged quick glances, both frowning before straining to hear the rest of the quiet conversation.

"Where are you going," Misa asked in a childish whine.

"To the hospital and then home. I'm going to make a few calls too, make sure my dad and the others are there to see Noriko have a little breakdown. I can't let her leave, not again. She's mine," he growled.

"Let's go," Mello said to Matt, nodding his head towards the door.

"Yes sir," Matt replied with a mock salute as he slid out from behind the table and followed his blond friend outside. "So what are we going to do? You heard what she said to him, sounds like she thinks one of them's Kira and she seemed to talk to someone who wasn't there a few times."

Mello grunted in frustration. "Why couldn't the chick just mind her own business?"

"Uh, I think that kind of was her..Sorry," Matt chuckled nervously when he received one of Mello's cold glares. After that, he chose to remain silent and play games while Mello fished his phone out of his pocket to make a call.

"Come on," Mello grunted less than a minute later, pushing himself up from the wall he had been leaning against. "We get to kidnap your princess."

"Huh," Matt tore his eyes away from his video game and didn't even hear the ominous bloop that signaled the character he was playing was now dead as he stared up at his rather serious looking companion, or maybe accomplice would now be a better word....

* * *

The drive back to the apartment seemed to take longer than usual for the impatient green eyed girl that was desperately trying to not run every red light she was forced to stop for. Which was almost every single light between the parking garage downtown to the parking structure for the apartment complex. On top of that, it seemed there was a great deal of traffic and it made the thirty minute drive take closer to an hour before she stepped out of her car, slamming her door behind her before stalking towards the elevator.

She was grumbling curses under her breath as she waited for the elevator, her foot tapping impatiently against the ground. If she had been paying more attention, she may have realized that there were two sets of footsteps quietly approaching her and the sound of an engine idling nearby. When the elevator doors slid open, she huffed and went to step inside, but was stopped when someone grabbed her elbow and jerked her backwards.

Her first instinct was to throw her elbow into her attacker's gut, which she did, and got an annoyed grunt from the person behind her that was trying to keep her arms pinned to her side.

"Dammit, Matt, would you hurry up already!" A gruff voice snapped.

"Yeah, yeah," another voice replied with a sigh. "Sorry princess, but you need to go to sleep now."

Noriko tried to scream, but it was cut off as a strong hand was placed over her mouth as well as an oddly smelling rag. She fought harder, trying to twist and turn in an attempt to get the rag away from her face, but the grip on her only tightened. In a last effort to get away, she stomped hard on the black booted foot she could see even as her vision began to swim in and out of focus.

She heard the man holding her yell out in pain, his grip slackening enough that she was able to break away, the hand holding the cloth to her face jerking away from her. She spun around, throwing a fist out at where she thought the face of the man who had been holding her would be. Unfortunately, the quick movement made her head spin and the world flip flopped uncomfortably, making her stomach turn. She felt her fist make contact with something hard, but it barely registered to her. Everything was beginning to go black and she was having a hard time standing on her wobbly legs.

"Whoa, careful there beautiful," she heard the lazy sounding man say worriedly as he steadied her, putting his hands on her shoulders and scooping her up before her knees gave out completely. "Don't want you getting hurt, now do we?"

Noriko could only groan in reply as she blinked at the hazy, boyish face that was grinning down at her.

"Stupid bitch hit me!"

The boy holding her, looked up at the angry shout. "Well, you can't really blame her, we are kidnapping her and all."

"Is she out?"

"Not quite."

"Where's the damn cloth?"

There was the distorted sound of someone shuffling around for a moment before the strange smelling cloth was clamped over her face again. She couldn't even fight against the arms holding her or the hand holding the cloth to her nose, all she could do was take shallow breaths and let everything fade away into total blackness.

"Get her in the car."

"I know Mel, no need to be so grouchy just 'cause ya got hit by a girl," Matt replied with a smirk as he walked to the waiting black town car.

"Shut up, I let her hit me," Mello snapped.

"Sure ya did buddy, sure ya did," Matt chuckled, carefully placing the girl in his arms into the backseat of the car and sliding in next to her.

* * *

"So when do you think she'll wake up, Mello?"

"I don't know, Matt," someone, presumably Mello replied boredly with a hint of irritation in his tone.

"Do you think she'll freak out when she sees him?" Matt asked curiously.

"Probably."

'See's who,' Noriko thought to herself in hazy confusion.

She was beginning to come back around, but she felt as if she had been hit by a train and had had her eyelids glued shut. Her body wouldn't respond to her commands to open her eyes so that she could see the people that were talking.

After several minutes of not being able to do anything but listen to the bleeps and bloops of some random device and the occasional bickering between the two people with her, Noriko finally managed to crack an eye open and groan when the harsh light of whatever room she was in greeted her.

"Your girlfriend's coming around," she heard the boy, Mello, say without much care.

'Girlfriend? What the hell's going on,' Noriko thought, finally opening her other eye and nearly suffering from a heart attack when a grinning face framed by strange copper colored haired was suddenly looming above her, grinning widely.

"Why hello precious, so nice of you to finally wake up," he said cheerfully.

"Ugh," was all she could manage before clamping a hand over her eyes.

"Oh, right. Here, drink this, it probably tastes like crap, but it's supposed to help. I think."

Lifting her hand slightly to peer at the boy that was holding out a glass of what looked like water to her. He looked to be about sixteen and he had a pair of goggles resting on the top of his head. He was dressed plainly, a loose green and black stripped shirt and a pair of old looking jeans. For some reason she thought he looked familiar, but she couldn't understand why, she was certain she had never seen him before.

"Who are you?" Noriko croaked, her throat was dry and scratchy and she was shifting around in the bed she was laying in, trying to sit up so she could take the cup from the boy's hand.

"My name's Matt, that's Mello," he answered, pointing to an all back clad blond boy with a bruised and swollen cheek that was glaring heatedly at her. "He's grumpy, perpetually, don't mind him."

"And you kidnapped me, why?" She inquired, snatching the glass from Matt and giving him a rather vicious look in the process.

"Ah, about that," Matt replied, scratching at his chin thoughtfully. "Well, drink that and I'll take you downstairs. Someone's waiting to see you."

"Oh, this is disgusting," Noriko coughed after swallowing a large gulp of the drink she had been given.

"Sorry pretty lady, but your head should feel better soon at least."

"I have a name you know," Noriko grumbled.

"I know, Noriko Mori, a.k.a Nori or on occasion Nori-san."

Noriko jolted, sloshing some of the foul tasting drink on her shirt in her surprise at hearing the nickname that L had liked to use when talking to her. She blinked at Matt before finally taking a good look at the room she was in. Her eyes clouded in confusion, the room was oddly familiar to her. After a moment of looking around, her eyes widened.

"This is...it's my old room at the old task force headquarters," she blurted out in her surprise.

"Yup, Watari thought you'd be-"

"What the hell is going on," Noriko shouted, dropping the glass in her hands as she scrambled to get off the bed.

"Calm down there beautiful," Matt said soothingly, holding his hands out in front of himself to try and show her that he meant her no harm.

"No, who are you people? Why am I here and how do you know about Watari, he's dead!" She yelled shakily, taking a step back as Matt stepped towards her.

"Just calm-"

"He's not dead," Mello stated roughly before Matt could say anything.

"Wh-what are you..." Noriko trailed off as she backed into the wall.

"We work for L," Mello said.

"I don't know what kind of game you think you're playing, but I don't want any part of it."

"Mel, she just woke up, give her a few minutes would you," Matt grumbled, scratching at his head. "She doesn't know what's going on."

"Well then tell her, she's not a kid, Matt, so don't baby her. L and Watari aren't dead."

"Liar," Noriko cried, tears now freely pouring down her cheeks. "I watched him die, he was in my arms when he died, why are you doing this to me?"

"Jeez Mel, couldn't you have at least let me do the talking," Matt sighed forlornly as he watched Noriko look as if she were about to break into pieces as tears streaked down her pale cheeks. "Listen, Noriko, what Mello is saying is true. Both L and-"

"Shut up," she screeched, pushing past him and throwing the door open to run down the hall to the living room.

Racing towards the door, she stumbled on one of the rugs, falling to her knees, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

"Still not very graceful I see," a familiar bored voice drawled from behind her.

She froze, her body tensing and her breath catching in her throat.

There was the sound of hurried footsteps from the hall, but they stopped a few feet behind her.

"Ah, hey, sorry, but Mel over here got a little carried away with the telling her you guys were alive and-"

"It's alright, Matt," the familiar voice said dismissively. "Seeing is believing, isn't that what they say? So, Nori-san, do you believe them now?"

A pair of bare feet, partially covered by baggy blue jeans appeared in the spot she was staring blankly at. Taking a shaky breath, she let her eyes roam over the person standing in front of her, from the baggy jeans to the white shirt to the shadowy onyx eyes and disheveled raven hair. She choked back a sob, raising a hand to cover her mouth as she shook her head from side to side, clenching her eyes shut in disbelief.

"You're supposed to be dead..."

* * *

Please review!


	39. Chapter 39 Unexpected Outcomes

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Notebook's

**Chapter 39**

**Unexpected Outcome**

"You're....you're supposed to be dead," Noriko spluttered in disbelief, staring wide eyed at the man standing in front of her.

The man's expression didn't change as he looked at Noriko who was still in a heap on the floor, her cheeks streaked with salty trails from the tears she had shed and her hair a mess from her recent kidnapping and ensuing freak out. He looked as bored as usual, though a black brow did arch up slightly as if he was mildly amused with the disheveled girl before him.

"I'm supposed to be dead," the man repeated slowly, one of his thumbnails resting on his lower lip. "Interesting."

Noriko narrowed her eyes, he was playing with her. The damned jerk was playing with her seconds after she had seen him for the first time since his supposed death. "I watched you die, I held you in my arms while your heart gave out. How are you still alive?"

"I'm still alive because Nori-san saved me."

Staring blankly at him for a moment to process what he was saying to her, Noriko didn't know what to say or do. L was alive and he was standing right in front of her, giving her a look that was bordering on amused and it really ticked her off. She had thought he was dead, that he had died in her arms, she had cried for him and Watari, had spent the last several months blaming herself for their deaths, and now they were miraculously alive and well and hadn't bothered to contact her in anyway until now. As much as she wanted to be angry, she found she was more relieved to see L, to know that he had survived and was safe. Tears filled her eyes again, but she breathed a sigh of relief and leapt off the floor, throwing her arms around the detective's neck and burying her head in his shoulder.

Hesitating at the sudden closeness, L tried to pry Noriko off of himself by gently and carefully grabbing her shoulders between his thumbs and index fingers and trying to push her back. His attempts failed seeing as how Noriko was holding him in something resembling a death grip.

"If Nori-san doesn't let go, her efforts to save me will have been in vain," L pointed out, hoping that this would get her to let him go.

To his relief, it worked. Only not quite how he had pictured...

When Noriko released her hold on the him, her face had gone from relieved to angry and she was now staring rather challengingly at him. Her next action stunned him so much that L never saw it coming, all he knew was that a fist had suddenly collided with his left cheek. He blinked in shock and raised a hand to absently rub at his reddened and quickly swelling cheek with the tips of two fingers. His attention then turned to Noriko who was still giving him a rather menacingly look as she fisted her hands at her sides and her chest heaved as she breathed rapidly, her nose flaring ever so slightly in her anger.

"She's amazing," Matt muttered from a few behind her.

"Shut up," Mello grumbled.

"Hey, it's not my fault that princess can throw an awesome punch."

"Would the two of you shut up," Noriko snapped, turning around to glare at them for a moment before turning back to the still rather stunned L. "And you," she hissed, taking a step towards the detective, who in turn took a step back. "For the last nearly eight months I have blamed myself for your death, Watari's too, but you've been alive all this time?"

"Isn't that obvious," L replied calmly.

"Then where the hell have you been?!" Noriko shouted. "Why haven't you contacted me, anyone, why did you let everyone think you were dead?" Her anger began to melt away again while she spoke, her threatening posture gave way to a more vulnerable stance as she pleadingly stared at him. "Why L, why did you let me think I let you die, that I failed you and Watari and why did you leave me with him?" Her eyes were overflowing with tears while she stared at him, waiting for the answers that would help her understand what was going on. The answers she would receive however were not what she had been expecting.

"If Watari and I were dead then we would be free to continue our investigation on the Kira case without interference. It also meant that we would be fairly safe, so long as no one from the former investigation team knew that we were still very much alive."

"You...You didn't want me to know," Noriko said, blinking away the tears that threatened to cloud her vision and wiping at her eyes hastily with the back of her hand, not caring that by now her mascara was probably running down her cheeks. "Didn't you care how I felt at all? Or were you only concerned for your own well being?" She asked harshly, her voice cracking as she held back the sobs that were still trying to rack her body.

Studying her emotionlessly, L met her pained gaze unwaveringly. "Would you have begun to trust Light-kun again if you had known I was still alive? Would you have moved in with him and have been as close to the current task force? Would you have been able to save Reiji Namikawa and the other Yotsuba members that had partaken in the meetings of death? And would you have been out for breakfast this morning with Namikawa to witness Light-kun and Misa going into that cafe and would you have seen the shinigami that was attached to her?"

Noriko's breath caught in her throat and her mouth worked but no sound came out, her eyes filled with salty water again and she struggled to take a breath or risk collapsing into a broken heap on the floor. Finally deciding that she wouldn't be able to speak, she pursed her lips and blinked back her tears.

This time L was prepared for the assault that Noriko launched at him, ducking away from the punch that she threw at him, not attempting to block since he didn't want to actually hurt her. Spinning around quickly, she tossed her right arm out at his head, hoping that her elbow would make contact. It didn't, L was a lot quicker than she gave him credit for and he crouched down, sweeping her legs out from under her with a sweep of one of his scrawny legs.

Grunting at the impact, but brushing it off, Noriko fluidly launched herself back up onto her feet and gritted her teeth together.

"Uh, you know, maybe we should do something," Matt leaned over to suggest to his blond companion who was watching the scene with a look that was a cross between boredom and interest. "She might get hurt, L's a lot more... scary than he looks after all."

Mello shrugged disinterestedly. "She started it, let her finish it. Besides, do you want to be the one to go grab her?"

Chuckling, Matt looked from his friend's bruised cheek to Noriko who looked very much like some sort of vicious animal as she lowered herself, prepared to launch herself at a moment's notice as she glared quite heatedly at L. "Good point, I'll stay here. L won't hurt her.... Right?"

His only answer was another disinterested shrug.

"You didn't want me to know so that I could gather information for you, you wanted to use me like I was just another pawn in your stupid, childish game to prove Light is Kira? How dare you, my life may not mean much to anyone, but I don't like to be used as if I'm just an easily replaceable game piece," Noriko angrily accused as she took to steps to her right, her legs crossing over each other and her eyes never leaving L who kept up a casual facade with his hands in his pockets, he twiddled his toes, rubbing them against each other distractedly.

"You're not replaceable, Nori-san. I had no choice but to let you think I was dead, I couldn't risk Light-kun finding out I wasn't. He needed to believe I was dead so that he could feel as if he had no obstacles in his way, except for you. The more comfortable he got, the more likely he was to slip up and he finally did."

Noriko flew at L and this time the black haired man didn't move out of the way, but let her small hands grab onto his white shirt and shove him into the wall behind him. "You used me!"

"Yes, I used you to try and find a way to prove Light was and still is Kira."

"Try? You mean even after all of this, you can't prove it?"

"If I could prove it then I wouldn't have had to have Matt and Mello make it look as if you had been kidnapped to make sure that nothing happened to you. I was trying to protect you," L told her evenly.

"Protect me? You let me believe that I could trust that bastard," Noriko argued.

"Nori-san believed that all on her own," he replied. "I had nothing to do with your decisions. You chose to trust him again because you wanted to, not because I wanted you to. You could have easily gone back to Namikawa, but you didn't, did you?"

His words seemed to shock her and all she could do was stare at him before letting her grip on him slacken.

"It was not my original intention to use you, but when it became apparent that you were beginning to trust Light-kun again, I decided to use that to my advantage and see what happened. I knew you would be safe so there was no reason for me to make myself known to you since that would only endanger you, something I had no intention of doing," L explained to her.

Gazing up at him, Noriko thought she could see something in his eyes, a warmth of some sort as he met her gaze evenly. The look made her blink, she was used to seeing nothing whenever she looked into those black pools that she wasn't sure she was seeing things correctly. There was no mistaking what she saw however and she realized with a small start that he wasn't actually trying to make her remove her hands from his body, he didn't like being touched, but he was letting her touch him without a word of complaint. Releasing his shirt, she closed her tired eyes, her head was pounding fiercely and she was still trying to get past the fact that he and Watari were still alive and that things had just drastically changed for her. Letting her head fall onto L's shoulder, she waited for the detective to request that she refrain from touching him or to try and pry her off of himself, but he didn't and it only made her more confused.

"Don't expect me to forgive you for this," Noriko told him with a small shake of her head.

"Hey, uh, beautiful, why don't we get you back to your bed, you're not looking so good," Matt said, walking up behind the auburn haired girl and smiling at L who was rather distracted by the scent of Noriko's hair.

"Strawberries," he mumbled to himself.

"What," Matt asked in confusion.

"Nori-san should get some rest, the anesthetic used to put you to sleep can take several hours to completely wear off even with the help of the drink you spilled all over yourself," L spoke up, completely ignoring the rather confused look he was getting from Matt who was still wanting to know why strawberries had been randomly mentioned.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Matt caught on to the fact that L was looking at him expectantly. "Oh," he said, taking a step towards Noriko and putting a hand on her shoulder. "Come on now, lets get you back to bed," Matt urged Noriko who was becoming quite pale as she leaned against L, her eyes beginning to droop closed. "Woah, careful there," Matt said worriedly when he carefully pulled her away from L and started to lead her down the hall only to have her stumble over her own feet before seeming to realize she was moving.

L watched Matt help her, Mello following a few steps behind the pair. He let out a sigh, raising his right foot to use his toes to scratch at his left leg.

"She'll forgive you, you know," a voice said reassuringly, there was a hint of cheeriness to the male voice that had spoken as if the speaker was smiling to himself.

"I know," L replied surely, playing with his lip as he stared at the hall Noriko had been led down.

"She's not a fool, she'll figure it out sooner or later," the same person said, the smile still evident in his voice.

"Figure what out," L inquired, feigning ignorance, his black eyes roamed over to the brown haired, green eyed man that was sitting on the couch.

The man laughed. "That you like her."

L remained impassive, not a single indication of emotion on his pale face. "I don't like Nori-san, she steals my sweets and she's not a very good cook."

"Maybe so, but she still went through a lot of trouble to stick by your side after rejoining the investigation team despite what everyone else would think of her. She trusted you, believed in you, helped you and saved your life."

"Your point?" He inquired smugly.

"My point is that my daughter has accepted you with open arms and has shown you that there's more to life than just staring at a computer screen. You enjoy her company and the distraction that she provides from your everyday life. It's not a bad thing, you know, having feelings."

–

Light was more than irritated as he took the elevator up to the level of his and Noriko's apartment. His nose was covered in bandages and the trip to the hospital had taken longer than he had expected. It had been over four hours since Noriko had stormed out of the cafe he had been in with Misa and he knew without a doubt that his fiance would not be found at the apartment, but he decided to give it a try anyways.

He threw the door to the apartment open, shouting Noriko's name as he did so. When he was met with no response, he made his way to the bedroom to see if her stuff was gone, to his surprise it wasn't. Everything was as it had been that morning.

"Light, what's wrong," his father asked from the door way. "Noriko isn't back yet."

Trying to remain as composed as he could, Light turned to his dad. "Noriko hasn't come back at all?"

"What happened Light, why-"

"Noriko, has she come back at all," Light repeated, cutting his dad off impatiently.

"No, she hasn't been back at all. Light, what's going on, what happened to you," Mr Yagami asked in concern.

"Noriko, she saw me with Misa. I ran into her while helping Kenta study and she wouldn't leave me alone so I said I'd have some coffee with her. Nori saw us going into the cafe and followed us, she was really upset, she wouldn't let me explain anything and gave me back the engagement ring before telling me not to come back to the apartment for two hours so that she could pack her things. I tried to get her to hear me out, but she wouldn't and broke my nose instead. That was over four hours ago, she should have been back here by now, if she hasn't been then where is she, I need to find her," Light explained hurriedly, worriedly.

"We'll find her, Light, but you need to calm down. Just relax, Noriko probably went somewhere to think about things, do you have any idea where she would go," Mr Yagami asked calmly.

He had an idea, an idea that made every nerve in his body feel as if it were on fire, he swallowed his anger, knowing that it would do him no good right now. He needed to be thinking rationally and jealousy and anger wouldn't help that, especially since he needed to be the desperate and worried man who wanted nothing more than to explain himself to his beloved fiance so that he could win her back. Of course he knew that the day would likely end in having Noriko committed, but he didn't care so long as she was still his because in time he could make her see that he was the only one for her and that he would protect her.

"The only place I can think of would be to Namikawa's or possibly her friend, Lisa's," Light replied. "Maybe the park by the N.P.A building her dad used to take us to all the time."

"The park is the closest, we'll check there first. We'll let the others know so that if she shows up here they can let us know, lets go."

Nodding, Light followed after his dad. He didn't think that they would find Noriko at the park, it was more likely that she was with Reiji Namikawa and the thought made him clench his fists at his side in an effort to remain calm.

After telling the others to keep an eye out for Noriko, Light and his dad left the apartment, taking the elevator to the garage to where Mr Yagami's car was parked. It was when they stepped out of the elevator that they both knew something was wrong, there was a set of car keys on the ground just outside of the elevator doors and a cell phone lie a few feet away, near a discarded white rag.

"Those are Noriko's keys and that's her cell phone," Light said, a wave of real worry washing over him. He hadn't thought that Noriko was possibly in any danger, he had just figured she had gone somewhere to be alone. He jogged to where she normally parked, her car was parked in the stall and when he set his hand on the hood, he knew that it had been there for sometime, it wasn't even remotely warm.

"I'll call it in now," Mr Yagami said when Light looked over at him, clearly upset with the turn of events.

Light noticed a strange buzzing sound and looked around for the source only to see that it was Noriko's cell phone. It was vibrating as a light flashed to signal she had a phone call. He didn't really think this was odd since she tended to leave her phone on vibrate since she would forget to shut it off before class, he walked towards the phone and glanced at the caller I.D, but there was no name just a number. Without thinking about it, he picked the phone up and answered it.

"Hello?"

He was met with silence before a familiar make voice replied. "Where's Noriko?"

He couldn't help it, his teeth gritted together and he clutched the purple phone a little too tightly. "Namikawa," he hissed through his teeth.

"Right, now where is Noriko?"

"I don't know," Light replied heatedly before flipping the phone shut and glaring at the device as he held it in his hand. He wanted to crush it in to dust, but instead he opened it back up and looked through Noriko's call log. 'So I wasn't the only one lying, was I Noriko,' he thought bitterly as he saw the same number several times in not only the incoming calls, but the outgoing and even missed call log. There were even a few texts as well. He had to slacken his grip on the phone afraid he really would crush it if he didn't get a hold of himself.

"There are security cameras in here, one is pointed directly at the elevator, we should be able to see what happened from the footage," Mr Yagami was telling him.

Light responded with a nod, he was afraid that if he spoke he would say something that he would regret later. He followed after his dad as they made their way to the apartment that the building owner occupied and from there they had to go down to the security room in the basement level to watch the tapes that would tell them just what had happened to Noriko.

It took the owner several tries, but the elderly man finally found the correct tape and rewound it until there was distorted images of three people struggling on the screen. Mr Yagami had the man rewind the tape to just before Noriko appeared on the screen, she seemed impatient, angry as she waited for the elevator. She was so preoccupied that she didn't notice the men behind her until one had grabbed her, she put up a fight, hitting her attacker with an elbow to the stomach, but her attackers were determined to not let her get away.

"They're completely covered from head to toe. There's nothing that can even remotely tell us who these people are," Light pointed out as he watched Noriko continue to struggle before going unconscious in the arms of one of the attackers. Her phone was then removed from her pants pocket and dropped to the floor to join her car keys that she had dropped when she had first been grabbed. "Who are these people dad and what do they want with Noriko?"

"I don't know, Light, but we will find out, I promise you that," Mr Yagami assured his son that was staring at a freeze frame of Noriko being held by one of her captors, her head lolling back and her hair spilling over his arm.


	40. Chapter 40 Plans and Plots

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

* * *

**Chapter 40 **

**Plans and Plots**

"Why would someone kidnap Noriko? It doesn't really make a lot of sense," Matsuda said. The young man was sitting on the sofa in the loft of the apartment that Light and Noriko shared, worriedly watching Light while the young man typed furiously away on the computer in front of him.

"We have no idea why someone would kidnap Noriko," Mr Yagami answered. "But we need to find her."

"How are we going to do that when we don't have any idea who even took her," Mogi asked.

Aizawa nodded in agreement, but didn't speak up.

Everyone jumped when Light's phone rang, breaking the silence that had descended over them and turned to look at Light. The brown haired boy grabbed his phone from where it sat on the desk beside him and flipped it open, hastily bringing it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Light Yagami," a distorted, mechanical voice asked from the other line.

His eyes narrowing, he gripped his phone tighter for a moment, but answered with a quick, "Yes. Who is this?"

"That's not important. What is important is that I have something you want and you have something I want."

"Noriko, where is she," Light demanded heatedly.

Everyone in the room remained silent, but with as much high tech equipment as they had at their disposal, Mogi and Aizawa fiddled with a few objects in hopes that they could trace the call.

"Now, now just calm down, your little girl is just fine, but she won't be for long if you don't cooperate. Understand?"

Light sighed, gritting his teeth together to keep his anger in check. "Yes, I understand." He wanted to know who would dare to touch Noriko and he wanted them to pay for it. His worry for Noriko was overshadowed by the feeling, but he barely noticed.

"Good," the voice replied. "Now listen carefully, Light Yagami, or you won't see your girlfriend again."

"I'm listening," Light said, his hands shaking.

"Several months ago the Japanese police as well as a task force headed by L acquired an interesting notebook from a former employee of Yotsuba, his name was Higuchi."

Light's eyes widened. Someone else outside of the task force knew of the notebook's existence and he had a feeling that whoever he was dealing was extremely dangerous and that he would have to step carefully to ensure Noriko's safety. It hadn't occurred to him that he could possibly be dealing with someone who could actually be a danger to her. He had felt certain that all he would need was to just know who the person was and then find a picture of them online since it was highly likely that someone who was kidnapping the fiance of the police chief's son had a prior record of criminal activity.

The voice on the other line continued. "This notebook was believed to be the weapon used by Kira to kill criminals. However, the killings are still continuing which leads me to believe that there is more than one notebook in the world. Am I right?"

He ground his teeth together, he had no idea how to respond. Should he deny the truth or confirm it? And what would happen to Noriko if the person he was speaking to knew he was lying?

"You're taking far too long to answer the question, Light Yagami. You were a member of the task force that was hunting Kira, weren't you?"

"How do you know all of this," Light inquired gruffly.

There was a sort of chuckle in response. "Didn't L tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"That he wasn't the only one."

His brown eyes widened, he had thought that L had always been bluffing, but was it possible that he hadn't been? Were there other Ls out there? Even if there were other Ls he didn't see any of them going this far just to get their hands on the Death Note, it wasn't Ls style.

"You're probably thinking that I'm going about things differently than the L you knew would, aren't you?"

Growling to himself, Light turned away from the watchful eyes of the task force members and scowled at the desk.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. There are others that were trained to replace L in case something should ever happen to him, but not all of us go about things as nobly as L. We will do whatever it takes to get that notebook, including blowing your little girl to bits if you don't give us what we want."

"The notebook, you want the notebook," Light stated, ignoring the gasps of the men behind him. "And what makes you think I'll give it to you?"

Another chuckle greeted his ears and he clenched his hand around his phone, he was being taunted and he in no way liked it.

"Because if you don't, I'll make sure the whole world knows that the real L is dead."

His eyes widened again, it was on surprise after another and he was beginning to wonder just how much the people who had Noriko really knew. And how it was that they knew what they did. L was dead and all the information that had been at the task force headquarters had been erased, the little that hadn't was stored in the computers at his feet. Light was trying to think, to process what was going on, but he found that he was too tense and felt too cornered to do much. It was as if L had come back to taunt him, but this time, L wasn't just a scrawny, sweet loving man who sat in a chair all day, staring at computer screens. He also would never have gone this far to get what he wanted, threatening the life of an innocent person wasn't his style.

"What do you want," Light finally asked in defeat.

* * *

"You what," Noriko asked in confusion. Blinking down at the detective that was perched in a chair in front of the monitors that she was so used to seeing him in front of she scratched at her head and waited for the raven haired man to explain himself. She had woken up not long before from several hours of sleep and while she still had a bit of a headache, she was feeling much better than she had been earlier. She had also showered and changed into some clothes that had been waiting for her. A pair of plain jeans, a white tank top and a red sweater.

Not bothering to take his eyes from the monitor in front of him while he popped a lollipop into his mouth, L mumbled out a response from around the treat. "Ligh'-kun is goin' ah trade the Death No'e in his fa'her's possession for 'ori-san."

Sighing, Noriko walked over to the detective's chair and spun him around to face her. He blinked up at her lazily and with a hint of mild annoyance, but said nothing, just wriggled his toes on the cold metal of the chair. "Why is Light trading the Death Note for me when I don't want to go back to him?!" She snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at L.

Popping the lollipop out of his mouth, he shrugged. "Light-kun doesn't need to know that. He just needs to think that he can get you back."

"Then what? I'm not going back to him, so what are you planning for that?"

"Simple," L replied, popping his lollipop back into his mouth. "Nori-san is gonna die."

"Excuse me," she asked after a short pause. "I'm going to die?"

Huffing at Noriko as if to imply she was being simple-minded, L removed the lollipop from his mouth again. "No," he drawled. "Nori-san is going to fake her death."

She blinked repeatedly at the detective she had missed so much and asked, "Eh...Why?"

Appearing to be annoyed with her, L rolled his eyes. "It is the most effective way to keep Nori-san-"

"Would you stop that already," Noriko cut in. "I'm right here, there's no need to keep saying my name."

Undeterred by her interruption, he continued. "It's the most effective way to keep Nori-san safe. Unless of course Nori-san wants Light-kun to keep searching for her and trying to get her back?"

Growling at his refusal to acknowledge her request and knowing that he was doing it in part to pick on her, she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Of course not, but to actually fake my death seems a little much, don't you think?"

"Not if you're serious about wanting to leave him forever," L replied seriously, his eyes that were rimmed with bruises looking up at her and studying her reaction.

Green eyes widening, she wasn't sure what to say. Of course she didn't want anything to do with Light ever again, but a part of her was always going to love him. They had been friends the duration of their lives and she wasn't sure that she could just fake her own death and leave him heartbroken, because she knew he would be. It was hard, trying to decipher her feelings for Light while L watched her in away that made her feel just a little too exposed. Fidgeting, she looked away from the dark eyes that were boring into hers. "I...don't know... I've known Light forever and I know that what he's doing is wrong and I want to stop him. I told him I would stop him, but... to fake my own death... It just seems like too much."

"I see." Spinning back around so that he once again had his back to Noriko, L stared at the monitors before him blankly. "We can come up with something else if Nori-san would like to go back to Light-kun."

"No!" She objected, turning to stare L's hunched back, tears in her eyes. "I don't want to go back to him, I know it's not safe for me anymore, he's too consumed and obsessed with me. He'd make me look like a lunatic if it would mean he could keep me as his."

"You're right, he would. That was his plan actually, to make Nori-"

"Dammit, L, Ryuzaki, Ryuga, whichever one you want to go by," Noriko snapped. "Stop saying my name! It's like you don't want anything to do with me and are trying to pretend that I'm not here."

"You can call me whatever you'd like. As for not wanting you here...you're right."

She looked as if he had slapped, her jaw dropped and she could only stare at his back while hot tears gathered in her eyes. "Then I'll go. Just tell me what it is you want me to do, I'll go along with your plan to fake my death as long you give me a way to start over so that I can finally just put all of this behind me and move on." With a shake of her head, she turned to walk out of the room.

"Noriko."

Pausing near the doors, partly in response to hearing her name and partly in surprise over hearing her full first name from L's lips, Noriko waited to hear what L had to say for himself.

"Would you mind getting me some tea? Don't forget the sugar, please."

It took her a moment to process the words that had been spoken, but when she did, she pivoted on her heel to glare at L's back. "I thought you didn't want me here?"

At first, he didn't respond and Noriko was beginning to think that she wouldn't get an answer, but he finally spoke. His voice was so quiet that she barely heard what he was saying.

"No..It's the opposite. I don't want you to leave. You've become a distraction and I need to be able to think clearly, otherwise you could get hurt and I don't think I'd be able to handle that if it were my fault."

Her breath hitched in her throat and she blinked, her mouth working as she tried to find words to say something, anything, but couldn't. After a moment, she turned away and walked out of the room.

"Don't forget the sugar," L called after her.

"Get your own damned tea," she shouted.

"Nori-san is being mean," he grumbled, popping his lollipop back into his mouth and pretending that he wasn't smirking just a little bit, because that was very un-L like.

* * *

"What are we going to do? We can't just hand over the Death Note to these people, who knows what could possibly happen if we do," Aizawa spoke up.

"Yeah, who knows," Matsuda agreed grimly.

"We can't just leave her in the hands of some psychopath," Light argued. He was angry over being made a fool of by a self proclaimed successor of L and even more angry that Noriko was being held prisoner somewhere while unimaginable things were possibly being done to her. She was his to protect and he failed her entirely.

"Just calm down, Light," Mr Yagami suggested calmly. "We're not going to let anything happen to Noriko. We just need to think this through and come up with a plan."

Light shook his head. "Whoever we're dealing with knows a lot, I don't think that we're going to be able to fool them. I can't risk Noriko's life like that." He put his elbows on his knees and clutched his head in both hands in distress. "What are we going to Dad? I need to get her back, this is all my fault."

"It's not your fault, Light," Mr Yagami assured the distraught young man. "Don't worry, we'll get Noriko back. Everything is going to be okay."

"Are we really going to give the Death Note to a bunch of criminals," Matsuda asked.

Mr Yagami sighed and looked down at Light's head. "I don't think we have a choice but to go along with the kidnappers right now. We'll take things one step at a time, if there is any chance of getting Noriko back without giving up the notebook, then we will, but for now lets cooperate and see what we can learn about the people who have her."

There was an uneasiness in the room over the thought of the murder notebook falling into the hands of someone who was willing to go so far as to threaten an innocent girl just to get it. Not to mention that from Light's explanation of the phone call it was hard to say just whose side they were on. They had made it seem as if they were in some way connected to L, but the L they had known would never condone this type of behavior. It made them wonder just what type of person, or organization, they were dealing with and how much they actually knew and how they knew it.

* * *

"Good morning, Sunshine," Matt chirped, sticking his hands in his pockets and sauntering into the monitoring room. "How are you today?" He plopped himself down besides Noriko who was glaring at L's back while the detective dropped sugar cube after sugar cube into his tea cup.

"Peachy," Noriko muttered, tearing her eyes from L's back. "I've just been told I'm going to be dying soon and that I'm a distraction. I'm just peachy."

"Uh..right," Matt drawled uncertainly, casting glances at her and then at L who seemed to be ignoring them. "Ah, hey, buddy, what's up?" The copper headed boy turned his head to his blond friend that was rather angrily making his way into the room.

"Nothing, why are you so damned happy," Mello grumbled.

Matt sighed, it seemed like no one was in a good mood today, but him. Shrugging, he pulled his gameboy from his pocket and flipped it on. The entire room went silent, the only sound was the occasional slurping sound from L as he sipped on his 'tea'.

"Breakfast?" Watari asked, pushing a cart into the room with several covered plates.

Noriko's eyes widened and she leapt up from the couch. Though she knew that Watari had survived, she hadn't seen the older man yet and was extremely happy to finally see the familiar kind face of the man that looked after L. Now that she knew more about him, it was odd to see him dressed in a suit reminiscent of servants for rich households, but that didn't matter at the moment. Running up to him, she threw her arms around the man.

Chuckling at her, Watari patted Noriko's head warmly. "It's nice to see you again too, Noriko. I'm sorry that it has been so long."

"It's ok, I'm just so glad to see you and that you're alright."

"Yes, thank you. I do believe that if it hadn't been for you or your father-"

"My father?" She cut in, confused as to what he had to with anything since she was the only one who was able to communicate with him.

"Hello, dear!"

Squealing in surprise, Noriko almost fell over when her dad appeared besides her, grinning like an idiot. As it was, she had to bring her hands to her chest to keep her heart from busting out since it was now beating so fast from the scare he had given her.

"Is she ok," her dad turned to ask Watari.

The older man smiled. "I'm sure she'll be fine."

"Wait, you can see him," Noriko asked, pointing a finger at her dad and very nearly poking him in the nose.

Leaning away from his daughter's hand, Kiyoshi waved her hand away with a silly looking frown. "Of course he can see me, why wouldn't he?"

She blinked, something she realized she was doing a lot of and began to wonder just how much of an idiot she was making herself seem. "Why wouldn't he?" She repeated slowly. "Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're dead?!"

"Now that's just mean," Kiyoshi pouted.

Raising her hands at him in sheer incomprehension, she turned to Matt and Mello to ask if they too could see her father. Judging by the looks on their faces, however, they couldn't and were looking at her as if she had become some strange creature from another planet. "So just Watari and I can see you?"

Kiyoshi shook his head, grinning. "Nope, the handsome detective can see me too."

Lifting a brow at his choice of words, Noriko glanced over her shoulder at L. He was still ignoring them completely. "Why?"

"Because dear, I helped to save their lives. Once your name is written in a Death Note, you should die, there should be no escaping that, but they did. Of course they had to die first, so now they can see me."

Staring at her father who seemed very happy with his rather unhelpful and confusing explanation, Noriko rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Right. So, L?"

"Hm?"

"Were you planning on telling me that you could see my dead father anytime soon?"

"No."

"Why not?" She asked, bristling slightly.

He shrugged. "Because that would have ruined Kiyoshi-san's chance to make a scene."

She was about to open her mouth to snap at him, but knowing her father as well as she did, she shrugged a shoulder and nodded. "Yeah, he would have pouted and whined for hours."

"Yes, I know."

"Hey," her father whined. "You two are being mean."

"After all the two of you are quite similar," L finished.

"Hey," Noriko protested. "I'm not that annoying, am I?"

L shrugged and didn't reply.

"That wasn't very nice," she mumbled, a cute pout pulling down her lips.

"Breakfast?" Watari asked again, effectively changing the subject and laughing when Noriko's stomach growled when he removed one of the lids from a plate to reveal a mouth watering array of eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes and toast.

* * *

"So have you reached a decision?"

"Yes," Light answered, his voice grim and distant as he held his cellphone to his ear. "We'll give you the notebook in exchange for Noriko."

"Good," the same distorted voice that he had spoken with hours earlier replied. "I'll be in touch with more details."

"Wait," Light interjected. "How do I know she's safe? How do I know that you haven't hurt Noriko?"

When there was no immediate response, Light was beginning to think that perhaps the kidnap had already hung up. It was the rustle of cloth and the sound of someone breathing that made him sit up a little straighter.

"L-Light? Are you there?"

"Noriko!" He couldn't help but to stand up quickly, he couldn't stay sitting down when he heard voice shaking with fear.

"Light...I'm sorry...I'm sorry, please..."

"Noriko, calm down, are you okay? Have they hurt you?"

He could hear her sniffling and shifting around. "No, but they will.. I'm scared, Light... I want to see you. I miss you. I'm so sorry.."

His free hand fisting at his side, Light stared angrily down at the ground, hoping no one else noticed just how angry he was. He couldn't stand to hear Noriko frightened and crying, it made him want to forget having her kidnappers names written in the notebook and kill them with his own hands. "Everything is going to be ok. I promise, I love you, Nori."

She sniffled. "I love you too, Light." She paused here for a moment before speaking again. "I don't want you to give it to them, don't give them the notebook. I-"

"That's enough of that." The distorted voice came back onto the line and Light could hear Noriko shouting in the background, he wasn't sure if it was due to being in pain or if she was trying to protest about the phone being taken from her.

"If you hurt her-"

"What will you do, Light Yagami, kill me?" There was a chuckle before the line went dead.

Turning to drop his phone onto the desk and put both hands on the edge so that he could lean onto it for support and glare at its surface, Light shook with rage. 'I will kill you, you bastard. How dare you humiliate me like this. How dare you put your hands on Noriko. She is mine.' His dark thoughts subsided when he recalled Noriko's voice telling him that she loved him, that she was sorry and wanted to see him. A smirk twisted the corners of his lips. 'She's mine,' he thought.

* * *

Sorry about the incredibly long wait... I really don't have a reason or good excuse to give you, so if you feel you must throw things at me, go ahead...Just don't throw any sharp objects, k? Hopefully I haven't lost too many readers, I would be really sad if I did..

Please review, I really want to know what everyone thinks since it's been awhile!


	41. Chapter 41 Plan for Death

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

Warning for some OOC moments. Please forgive me.

* * *

**Chapter 41**

**Plan for Death**

"Wow, that was one hell of a performance, beautiful. Now we'll be able to get this Death Note thing in no time and there won't be any need to worry anymore," Matt cheerily said, putting his hands behind his head and leaning into the couch with a grin on his face.

"No," Noriko replied. She was still facing the monitors, her face blank while she stared at a black screen before her.

"Huh, what do you mean no," Matt asked in confusion, blinking from Noriko to L who was staring blankly at his own computer screen. "Uh, am I missing something?"

"What the hell's going on, L," Mello grunted from his spot stretched over the couch.

"The notebook that will be given to us will be the notebook that is in Soichiro Yagami's possession and that he has hidden where no one but himself could ever find it," L said.

"Meaning it's not being used," Noriko added to help make things a little clearer. She then stuck her thumb on her bottom lip and began chewing on her nail, not realizing L was practically doing the same thing only a few feet away.

"It's not the notebook that is currently being used to kill criminals? Then why do we want it," Matt asked.

"Because it's a start and it'll keep Light from scheming up a way to get it out of his father's possession one day so that he can use it," Noriko answered.

Matt sighed and scratched at his messy copper head of hair. "Well, I guess that makes sense, but what'll stop him from using the other one?"

"There is no telling if the other notebook is in Light Yagami's possession or not-"

"That's not true," Noriko spoke up, turning to face L when his dark eyes cornered over to her and he raised a thin eyebrow. "I can sense that Light is in possession of the notebook that his father has, but I can also sense that there is someone else in possession of a notebook besides Light. That would be Misa, she's the one I saw the shinigami, Ryuk, with."

L's blank face contorted into a thoughtful frown. "When he exchanges the notebook for you, will you be able to sense that he is no longer the owner of that notebook?"

It was Noriko's turn to frown. She took her time in answering the question, thinking about what she knew of the notebooks and how ownership of them worked. She didn't know much, but she knew that she had always been able to sense something whenever a human was in possession of a notebook as well as when they gave up their ownership of it. She also knew that giving up ownership of the Death Note would mean losing all memories of what you did while in possession of it. Slowly she let out a long sigh and shook her head. Propping her head up in her hands, she stared up at the ceiling. "It's highly doubtful that Light would actually give up ownership of the notebook, he would lose all memories of it if he did that and he won't risk that. He'll probably have his father be the one to handle it that way he is less likely to be pressured into giving up ownership somehow. I don't even think you could threaten him into giving up ownership, he won't believe that anyone else knows all of this. He would get suspicious if my kidnappers know things that only he and I are aware of. So I guess the answer to your question is that yes I would be able to tell if Light gave up ownership, but I don't see that happening."

"Nori-san is right," L replied reluctantly, picking up a sugar cube from a bowl beside his empty coffee cup and dropping it into his mouth.

Resting her chin in her palm, she shot the raven haired man a dark look and grumbled, "So we're back to Nori-san, huh?"

"Is that a problem, Nori-san," he asked, looking over at her to catch her eyes and see them widen minutely before she looked away with a quiet, tired sounding sigh.

"No," she mumbled, standing up from the metal desk chair. "Excuse me, I'm not feeling very well. I'm going to my room to lay down."

Avoiding the onyx eyes that were following her every move, Noriko made her way to the steps that would lead her to the elevators. She hummed curiously when she heard muffled footsteps trailing behind her. Swiveling around to see who was following her, she was surprised to see L slouching his way up the steps, his thumb balanced on his lower lip and his eyes assessing her. Choosing to ignore the detective, Noriko turned away and once the elevator doors opened, stepped into the steel contraption. L followed, standing a few feet away from her and watching her the entire time she was trying to ignore him.

He found it quite amusing. The way her eyebrow began to twitch and her jaw clenched simply because he was staring at her. Her foot even began to tap impatiently on the tile of the elevator floor while her small, pale hands fisted at her sides. He was practically smirking when she whirled around to glare at him, thankfully he was able to hide the smirk before she noticed and got any angrier.

"What are you doing," she demanded.

He blinked, a clear signal to her that he thought the answer to her question was quite obvious. "I'm riding the elevator with Nori-san."

Huffing in annoyance, Noriko folded her arms over her chest. "Why?"

He blinked again. "Because Nori-san has the best cake in her room."

Her brow rose, her signal to him that she thought him to be insane. "You realize that I have no cake, right? I was sort of unconscious when I was brought here. That means I wasn't able to stop and get cake."

"Really?" He sounded mildly disappointed.

"Really." She sounded incredibly sarcastic.

"Then I suppose I'm just here because Nori-san is pretty."

Noriko deadpanned. L had lowered his hand and shoved it into his pocket and was now giving her a semi-smile that sort of creeped her out. She didn't even notice the elevator door had opened and was about to close until L said something.

"Isn't this Nori-san's stop?"

"Huh?" She turned around to see what he was talking about only to shout in surprise as the door began to slide shut. Sticking her hand in the way, she nudged the door and it began to open once again. Without another glance back, she exited the elevator and made her way towards her room. It was when she heard L following along behind her that she stopped and spun around. "Why are you following me?"

"I believe I already told you-"

"Already told me that you didn't want me around? Yeah, you did and I'm really not in the mood for you to be picking on me at the moment. So I'll ask again. Why are you following me, L?"

"Is Nori-san-"

"Dammit!" Noriko snapped interrupting the dark eyed man again and earning herself a raised brow from him to voice his displeasure. "Didn't I already tell you to knock it off? I'm standing right here, there is no need to constantly say my name. You say you want to distance yourself from me because I'm a distraction, which is why I'm assuming you call me Nori-san all the time. Or just to annoy me, but either way if you want to distance yourself then why don't you-" She cut herself off and took a step backwards when L withdrew his hands from his pockets and straightened himself up a bit though his shoulders were still hunched slightly. Surprisingly, he was a bit taller than she had expected and she gulped when she looked up to lock eyes with him when he took a few steps towards her.

"You're rambling."

"I do that sometimes," she replied distractedly, eying him wearily. "But what do you expect? You're not exactly my favorite person right now, L. You kept the fact that you and Watari were still alive from me and then you have me kidnapped so that you can use me. Again, since I wasn't much help the first time around. Then you go and say that-"

She was cut off again when she suddenly and inexplicably, because she was certain she hadn't had her back to the wall a moment before, found her back against the hallway wall. Inches in front of her face hovered L, his eyes studying her in a way that made heat rise to her cheeks.

"W-What are you-" Noriko never got to finish her question when L's lips lightly pressed down upon hers. Green eyes widening, she didn't really know what to do or how to react. In the end, she settled for pushing L away, glaring at him and attempting to slap him only to have her hand caught in his firm grip.

"That's not very nice, Noriko."

She didn't even notice that he had used her full first name, no honorific, it didn't matter to her at the moment. "What do you expect?" She yelled, angry tears filling her eyes that she hastily wiped away after jerking her hand from his grasp. "After the day I've had, you can't just kiss me and figure that that will make everything ok! I thought you were dead!"

L visibly winced at Noriko's raised voice, but took a step back to give her some room since it seemed clear that was what she needed. To be honest, he wasn't entirely sure why he had kissed her, it seemed like a good way to make her be quiet. It appeared that he might have been wrong and that it had instead had the opposite effect, he would have to file that away for later. Just in case. He also chose to remain silent, which proved a good idea when she continued.

"Up until a few hours ago, I was engaged to the man I had always loved and was content to spend my life with him. I trusted him, L. Maybe I was a fool," she paused here to harden her glare when he nodded in agreement. "But that doesn't really matter right now, I'm confused, tired, hurt and most of all angry and not just with Light. If you had been honest then things probably would have turned out differently. Instead you decided to see what happened while suspecting all along that Light was still Kira. He may not be the one committing the murders this time, but he sure as hell is controlling Misa to do whatever he wants. You suspected this yet you left me to deal with it all on my own. You say I had a choice, to go back to Reiji, but you're wrong," she sighed and looked up at him, he didn't seem at all surprised to be told he was wrong, he seemed the usual bored and blank detective she was used to. "You know full well that Light never had any intention of letting me leave him. I was manipulated by two people I had trusted very much."

"I never manipulated you, I simply let you make your own decisions," L pointed out.

Noriko shook her head, she felt incredibly lost and tired and wanted to curl up in a ball in the solitude of her apartment to think about things. "You don't get it. You may not have been around to manipulate me, but you're a freaking genius, L, you had to have known what the most likely outcome for me was. My problem is that if you cared about me at all, you wouldn't have left me with Light. I'm going to my room," she muttered.

At first, he had no intention of following her, but in the end, he did, barely making it to her door before she could close it on him and lock him out.

Shaking her head, Noriko heaved a sigh and let L follow her in. Ignoring her guest to the best of her abilities, she walked to the kitchen in search of something to eat. She was in need of some comfort food and some soothing tea. A small smile lifted her lips when she saw that there was a cake in her fridge. A carrot cake, her favorite, something that Watari knew. Pulling the cake from the fridge, she set in on the counter.

Putting a pot of water on the stove to boil so that she could make some hot green tea, she got two plates out of the cupboard. The cake was already cut and all she had to do was move a slice on to each plate. The tea didn't take long to boil and she pulled the kettle from the heat, setting aside and grabbing a little round silver serving tray that Watari had left on the counter. Apparently he figured that she wouldn't end up being alone.

Putting the two slices of cake on the tray followed by the tea kettle, two cups, some honey for her and sugar for L as well as two spoons and forks, she made her way back to the living room. L was hunched up on her couch in his usual position, his feet on the cushions and his knees pulled into his chest. Without a word she set the tray down, put a piece of cake, a tea cup that she filled with steaming tea and some sugar in front of L and took a seat in the armchair across from the couch.

The detective didn't bother to question her, she was pouring her own tea and still ignoring him so he dug into the cake, making a sour face since carrot cake was not among his favorites. It just wasn't sweet enough for his tastes, he settled for pouring a bunch of sugar into his tea, not failing to hear Noriko's quiet snort of disapproval as he did so.

It was when she was about half way through her piece of cake that Noriko jolted, suddenly realizing what had happened in the hall. She blinked, unconsciously bring her fingers to her lips while L watched her quizzically.

"Is something wrong with the cake? Aside from the fact that it's not sweet enough," L grumbled.

Blinking, she turned to the dark eyed man. "You kissed me."

L looked up from his thick tea and met her eyes with playful amusement. "Yes, I would have thought that was fairly obvious. Even for Nori-san."

Growling under her breath, she narrowed her green eyes. "Why?"

Setting his tea cup down, L scratched lazily at his mess of black hair, looking up at the ceiling like he was contemplating the reasons why she was so dense. Noticing the look in his eyes, though she could tell he was simply playing with her, Noriko narrowed her eyes further.

"I would think that would be fairly obvious too," he mumbled finally, finally meeting her eyes once again.

Noriko jolted again, she wasn't used to seeing much emotion in the obsidian pools that were staring at her, she hadn't even thought that L was capable of much outside of the few childish emotions she had seen him display. It seemed she had been wrong because in his eyes now was something that she had seen in the eyes of both Light and Reiji in the past, however it didn't stay in his eyes as long as it had in theirs. Though the look was fleeting, Noriko blushed against her own will and grumbled, "Eat your damn cake."

"That's not-"

"Very nice, yes I know," Noriko cut in, taking a large bite of her own cake.

"I don't appreciate-"

"Being interrupted? Yeah, I know that too."

"Nori-san is being-"

"Annoying? Mean? So what?"

"I think Nori-san forgets what I am capable of," L stated.

Munching on a mouthful of cake, Noriko looked up and shook her head. "No, I didn't forget that you're a pervert."

Not having expected that response, L dropped his fork that he had been holding with two fingers and his piece of cake tumbled onto the table. He stared at the piece of cake with a frown before scratching at the side of his head thoughtfully. "I am not a pervert."

"Uh huh," she replied around another mouthful of cake. "Then why did you try to fondle me on Halloween? I mean you even made me fall on top of you."

"I didn't make Nori-san fall. You're not very graceful, you fell on your own. And I was reaching for my candy not...anything else. I think Nori-san is the pervert."

She nearly spat out the tea she was sipping when he had retorted. "Excuse me," she asked in disbelief.

"You fell on top of me and you kissed me after that. Nori-san is the pervert, not me," he explained. It was obvious he was happy with this explanation and quite proud of himself when he popped another forkful of cake into his mouth and looked up to meet Noriko's green eyes challengingly.

At the mention of her kissing him, she flushed. She had actually forgotten about that. "Yeah, well who was the one who attacked me in the hall earlier?"

"I didn't attack you. I kissed you," he corrected.

"For no reason and without warning, that makes you a pervert," Noriko retorted stubbornly.

"It wasn't for no reason."

"Oh, shut up," Noriko mumbled childishly. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Then you shouldn't have brought it up."

"I said shut up."

"I was only saying-"

"Shut up."

"Stop inter-"

"Shut up."

"Nori-san is-"

"Shut up."

Their games continued a few minutes longer and though the both of them didn't bother looking at each other, they were both grinning like school kids. It was fun for the both of them to be together again, they had enjoyed the time that they had gotten to spend together in the past while working together and it had never seemed like work. For L Noriko was a distraction, a welcome one and a reminder that even though he hadn't thought himself to be capable of feeling emotions such as love that he was only human and it was part of human nature to fall in love. And for Noriko he was someone that she would never be able to understand but that she would always have a place in her heart for. How big or small that piece was remained to be seen.

* * *

"I've been meaning to ask," Noriko spoke up the following day when she and L found themselves back in the investigation room. L was busy looking over some maps of the area and Noriko was pretty much just twiddling her thumbs and surfing the internet. "Have you and Watari been able to see my dad since the time you both 'died'?"

"Yes," L replied blankly, not taking his attention from the computer screen.

"Well that explains why I haven't seen him in months," she murmured to herself, plopping her chin into her palm and going back to her computer.

"Did you miss me," her father cooed, suddenly popping up beside her and leaning his head down to block her vision of the screen.

"Nope. It was nice not being haunted by my overly enthusiastic dead dad." Her expression never changed, something that seemed to disappoint her father since he was now pouting at her.

L's voice interrupted before Kiyoshi had a chance to whine about Noriko's treatment of him. "Watari," he said, pushing the button on the screen that would allow him to speak with the older man in another room.

"Yes, L." The man's familiar voice replied.

"I think I have found a suitable location in which to kill Nori-san."

"Excuse me," Noriko and her father both inquired loudly, eyes widening.

"At least there is no doubt that you two are related," L muttered when he looked over at the stunned father and daughter.

"Perhaps you should rephrase your statement," Watari suggested humorously. "I believe what you mean was you found a place to stage Noriko's death, correct?"

L looked mildly irritated by Watari's suggestion and stared stubbornly at the W on the computer screen. "Yes, of course that's what I meant."

"Where," Noriko and Kiyoshi asked in sync, Noriko casting a quick glare at her father when he flashed her a bright, lopsided smile.

"Here," he answered monotonously, pointing out a spot on the map on his computer screen.

Not being able to see what he was talking about from where she sat, she stood up and leaned over the back of his chair. Her father followed, leaning over the other side and grinning at L when he gave him a small unhappy glare.

"Why are you glaring at me," Kiyoshi pouted. "Noriko's leaning over you too."

"Yes, but I happen to like Nori-san," L replied blandly.

"I know," Kiyoshi sang happily.

Noriko rolled her eyes and ignored the two men, studying the map in front of her. "I'm not really sure where this is," she admitted.

"It's an abandoned sanitation plant," L answered. "It was considered out dated and shut down, it was replaced with a newer more high tech plant further up the river."

"And just what are your plans?"

"The plant is on a small piece of land that is divided from town by a small river, there is a bridge that connects them and it is supposed to be quite sturdy. It also doesn't have any foot or vehicular traffic so no one else will be inadvertently hurt or involved. The river is quite deep, but usually calm. We will have the meeting on the bridge. You will be inside a car in the middle of the bridge, it will be set up with explosives."

"Oh joy," Noriko grumbled.

Ignoring her, L continued with his explanation. "Mello will be a few yards away, with the remote for the explosives in the car. It is likely that Mr Yagami and Light will be the ones to come to the meeting since Light will want to be there when you get released. This is a good thing, he'll see your death with his own eyes and won't be able to refute it. Mello will not hand you over however, instead he will insist that the authenticity of the notebook is proven by requesting that a name of a death row inmate be written down. Mr Yagami will never agree to do such a thing and I doubt that Light would, especially if you beg him not to."

"I don't wanna beg that bastard for anything," she muttered, ignoring the look she got for once again interrupting L.

"Mello will become agitated-"

"That's nothing new," Matt piped up, causing everyone to turn and look at him, though he only noticed Noriko and L since he wasn't able to see Noriko's dad. "Mel's always in a bad mood."

"Shut up Matt," the mentioned blond snapped, following behind his copper headed friend.

"See," Matt said, grinning. Sauntering over to Noriko, he put an arm around her shoulder, ignoring her lifted brow and studied the map on the computer. "So that's where it's all gonna go down, huh?"

"Yes, Matt, this is where we will stage Nori-san's death," L answered robotically, it was obvious he wasn't happy with the constant interruptions, he was sulking ever so slightly. "As I was saying, Mello will become agitated by Mr Yagami and Light's refusal to prove the authenticity of the Death Note. There will be a warning explosion, not in the car itself, but outside of it. This will provide some smoke cover so that it is impossible to see you get out of the car before that too is blown up."

"Just so you know, you're really not selling me on this whole faking my death thing at the moment," Noriko said blandly.

"Don't worry, precious, we won't let anything happen to you," Matt chortled, grinning at her before turning to Mello who was lazily sitting on the couch with his feet up on the table. "Isn't that right, Mel?"

"Whatever."

"That's very reassuring," Noriko replied sarcastically, shaking Matt's arm off of her shoulder. "Let me guess the rest, using the smoke as cover as well as the following explosion I dive into the water and swim to safety?"

"Is that going to be a problem, Nori-san?"

"No, but I'm pretty sure I've seen this whole thing in a movie before. Couldn't you come up with anything better," Noriko retorted smirking at L when he gave her a dry look.

"Well I suppose Mel and I should go scope this place out, get an idea what the lay of the land is and all," Matt suggested, putting his hands behind his head and walking to where Mello sat, kicking his legs off the table and ignoring the sneer he received. "Lets go."

"Are you two even old enough to drive," Noriko asked.

"No, but who cares," Matt called back. "We're geniuses."

"Somehow the thought of those two being geniuses is a little frightening," she mumbled to herself. "You sure about this, L? Even though it's a pretty simplistic plan, it could still be dangerous. What if it's not just Mr Yagami and Light? Or what if Mr Yagami or Light actually do write a name in the notebook to prove it's real?"

"There's no way that either one of them will write in the notebook, it goes against Mr Yagami's principals and if he is the one holding it then he won't allow Light to write in it either."

"How are you going to get the notebook by the way? You only went over my fake death scene, but not how you would get the notebook," she pointed out.

"Mello will retrieve it in the commotion caused by the explosion."

"Oh... Hey, L?"

He remained silent, figuring she would continue on her own.

"I'll just be going now," Kiyoshi said to no one in particular. He faded away into nothingness a moment later.

"I'm just curious," Noriko began. "But this plan does seem very simple, especially for something you cooked up in that insane head of yours. Is there a reason?"

At first it didn't appear that he had any intention of replying, he didn't look at her, but stared blankly at the computer screen and he began to nibble on the tip of his thumb distractedly. When he did answer, he started off by keeping his eyes off of her while she stood next to him, leaning into the desk to stare down at him with her brilliant green eyes. "I don't want to risk Nori-san getting injured. The simpler the better, it leaves less room for error."

"I see," she sighed. "One more question and I leave you alone. Just what am I to you, L?"

This time he did look up at her and pulled his thumb away from his lips. By the look in his eyes, Noriko expected some sort of deep answer or admission of love, what she got was instead was, "Nori-san is pretty. Especially when being dense."

"I'm not talking to you anymore," Noriko snapped in exasperation. Sure she had an idea about the reasons why L didn't want her to be hurt, it was the same reason he had kissed her. He liked her, but it was something that she wanted confirmation of because it was different to be told something even though a person's action might have implied the same meaning. Stalking back to her seat, she plopped down in her chair and went back to poking around the internet.

"Nori-san is also pretty when she's angry."

"Oh, shut up L."

* * *

Hello my pretties! This chapter may still be a little short for some of you, but at least I didn't make you wait like six months for it... Hope you enjoyed this chapter and that it wasn't too boring or dull. There will be some action in the next one though.

Please review!


	42. Chapter 42 Real or Fake

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

**Chapter 42**

**Real or Fake**

After hanging up his phone, Light sighed in a mix of frustration and exhaustion. He put his head in his hands and grasped at his hair, willing himself to calm down so that he could think clearly. It just wasn't that easy, Noriko was in danger and she was obviously scared out of her wits. He had been allowed to talk to her again and through the sniffling and the slight slurring of her voice that made him believe that she had been drugged, she had pleaded with him to not give into the requests of her kidnappers. To not let the notebook fall into the hands of such horrible people. Despite how much he wanted to honor her request, he had no choice. He would get her back and then he would find a way to make sure that the ones responsible for kidnapping her paid. Dearly.

"So... We're really going to do it? Give these people the notebook," Matsuda inquired quietly.

He too was worried about Noriko, they all were, but they were no fools. Giving up the Death Note for her could bring them a lot of trouble and it would mean that they had failed at their jobs to get their hands on all of the notebooks so that they could never again be used as murder weapons. It also meant that they would be going against one of the teachings of the Japanese police. And that was to never give into terrorists, which was essentially what the people who had kidnapped Noriko were.

"Lets just take this one step at time," Mr Yagami spoke up. Putting a hand on his son's shoulder, he sighed before looking up at the people in the room. "We may be able to find a way to get Noriko back without having to give up the notebook in our possession, but we can't risk Noriko's life."

"Not to be rude, but is one person's life really worth giving up-"

"Aizawa," Matsuda cried.

"It's alright," Light said, lifting his head from his hands. "I understand where Aizawa is coming from. One life really doesn't seem that big when compared to the power that the notebooks have. Even Noriko knows that and doesn't want us to give it up, but it's Noriko and..."

"It's alright Light," his father spoke up. "We understand. Don't worry, we'll get Noriko back. In the end everything will work out."

"I hope you're right Dad," he sighed tiredly, hanging his head again.

* * *

Noriko was sitting in on one of the couches in the large investigation room, her feet were crossed beneath her and she held a cup of steaming hot tea in her hands. Her green eyes were staring into the tea blankly while a few yards away L, Matt and Mello talked over their plans for her staged death. It had been decided that the entire thing would talk place tomorrow in the late afternoon. And they had already called Light and set the entire thing up. To her it seemed a little quick, but she had been assured that it was plenty of time to set things up correctly and that she had nothing to worry about.

Throughout the entire ordeal she was going to be equipped with a small device that would allow her to remain in contact with L, who would be walking her through the whole event. Even though she knew that everyone was doing their best to keep her safe, she had a small nagging feeling in the back of her mind that was telling her something just wasn't right. She tried to ignore the feeling to the best of her abilities, but it was no use. The sensation just wouldn't go away and she found herself becoming more and more nervous with each passing hour.

It wasn't that she doubted L or even the two teenage boys that were helping him to set the stage for her demise. There was no doubt in her head that they would do everything in their power to keep her safe, she couldn't pin point what it was that was bothering her. What the strange nagging feeling was and it was driving her crazy. Her thoughts were confused and jumbled, erratic and after awhile she forced herself to block them out and focus on nothing but the voices in the room and the delicate scent and flavor of the tea in her hands.

Her eyes shut and she took a deep breath that she exhaled slowly, releasing as much of her nervousness as she could with it. However instead of blanking out her mind, she found her thoughts pulled to Light and that's when everything crashed down on her.

Noriko's green eyes flew open and she sucked in a shaky breath, tears pricked at her eyes and she felt her body begin to tremble.

"Nori-san?"

"I..I'm fine," she answered shakily, lowering her head to hide the tears that were beginning to glide down her cheeks.

"While you may say that the fact that you're shaking and crying lead me to believe that you're lying," L countered. The raven haired detective had stood from his chair and was sauntering over to her while Matt and Mello continued to talk amongst themselves at the desk.

"Of course I'm lying," she snorted. "A lot has happened in the last two days and it hasn't all sunk in yet. I'm heartbroken and I feel like such an idiot for trusting in Light again, but...I can't help it. I will always love him. He's my Light. The boy that I grew up with and who was always there for me. We know each other so well, yet at the same time we know nothing about one another. I never would have thought that Light was capable of causing so much death. I know I've said that he would do drastic things to create a peaceful world, but I really never thought that he could do this much damage. It's..It's not like him. I should have stopped him, I should have just destroyed the notebook when I had a chance. This wouldn't be happening if I had." She was practically sobbing now as she clutched at her legs and buried her head into her knees, her brown hair falling over her face to further hide the salty trails that were sliding from her eyes.

"We don't have to go through with the plan tomorrow. If Nori-san wants to-"

"No," she cut in. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she sniffled and raised her head to rest her chin on her knees and stare at the floor. "We do have to go through with the plan tomorrow. I love Light, but...Light gave his heart to the notebooks and let them consume him. The Light I knew is no longer in control of his body or mind and if I plan on doing anything to stop him, I need to be free of him. It's just hard. I know what my death will do to him and it hurts me to think about hurting him like that, but..."

"He's hurt you a lot more," L mumbled, he was looking away from her, chewing on the tip of his thumb and looking slightly depressed.

She nodded. "He's done so much evil..I can't help but wonder what he would have thought if someone went back to before this all started and told him what type of person he would become and how much damage he would cause. You didn't know him before all of this. He really was a good person."

"Maybe so, but he was weak."

"Yeah, he was. I wish hadn't been so blind through all of this. If only I had been of more use," she sighed.

"It's not your fault."

The words caused Noriko to jolt and her sobbing to stop in her shock, blinking the tears from her eyes she looked up to lock eyes with L, but couldn't find anything to say.

"You blame yourself for not knowing what was happening and not stopping him sooner, but it's not Nori-san's fault. No one blames you," L said.

Wiping the tears from her eyes and sniffling, she rested her chin on her knees and stared down at the floor. "You say that, but..I'm a Protector and while I may not know a lot about what it is I'm meant to do, I know that I am supposed to protect people from the Death Notes and I haven't been doing that. Out of all of the people who have had their names written in the pages of one I have only saved a tiny fraction of them. I know that all of this isn't my fault. I didn't ask Light to do any of this after all, but I still feel as if I should have done more. I've been fairly useless and it's a bit depressing."

"What do you wish to do after tomorrow? I can arrange for just about anything," L told her.

"At first I had thought that starting all over would be nice. A new place and everything, but...I can't just leave and turn a blind eye to what is going on here. I would like to stay and help you put an end to all of this. If you'll have me, of course," she replied, smiling over at L.

He scratched at the back of his head lazily and thoughtfully stared up at the ceiling. "I suppose," he finally sighed.

"Jeez, L. Don't sound so happy about it," she said sarcastically.

The thoughtful expression on his face faded into a frown as he continued to stare up at the ceiling. "Even after we get the notebook that is in Mr Yagami's possession there is still going to be the notebook in Misa Amane's possession to deal with."

"That's true, but she's not the brightest tool in the shed, I don't think it'll be too hard to get it from her," Noriko replied.

"She's doing as Light tells her though, there's a chance that she isn't even the one in possession of the notebook-"

"No, she's definitely the owner of a notebook. She has a shinigami following her around. Ryuk."

"Yes," he said slowly. "That's something that has been bothering me."

"What do you mean?"

"The shinigami with her, you said it's name was Ryuk."

"Yeah. So what?"

"There are two notebooks in the human world that we know of. The one that Mr Yagami has hidden and the one that is in Misa Amane's possession. If there are two notebooks then why aren't there two shinigami? What happened to Rem, the shinigami in possession of the hidden notebook?"

Noriko shrugged. "How would I know? After she tried to kill you and Watari she disappeared, I haven't seen or sensed her since then. The only shinigami I can sense is Ryuk."

"I see," L mused.

"Now that I think about it that's actually kind of odd."

"Odd? How?"

"Well Ryuk was tied to Light in the beginning, so what is he doing with Misa? It just seems weird to me. Then again, Light is behind all of this so maybe he's just doing as Light told him. Though it's hard to see a shinigami doing something that a human told him to," Noriko replied.

"There is no doubt that Light was behind Ryuk attaching himself to Misa. Had he attached himself to him instead then you would have known from the start that you were being lied to. He couldn't risk that. He would have lost you," L explained. "I'm beginning to understand why he wouldn't want to risk that."

"You make it sound like you're in love with me."

"Love," he mumbled under his breath. "Strong affection for another out of kinship or personal ties. Unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for another... Hmm, perhaps I am in love with Nori-san."

* * *

"For the last time L, I am not baking you a cake when I get back to headquarters!" Noriko snapped.

"But Nori-san loves me."

She growled in annoyance and rubbed at her forehead that was beginning to ache. "You can't just decide that all on your own!"

"Nori-san is pretty when she's angry."

Slapping her hand against her forehead, Noriko could feel her brow start to twitch. "Would you shut up already, I'm supposed to be looking like I'm upset and scared not like I'm about to kill someone."

"I'll shut up if Nori-san bakes me a cake," L replied. His voice was being transmitted to her through a small hearing aid like device that was in her ear and hers to him through the same device.

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"I asked nicely, Nori-san. It's not very nice of you to deny me," L complained childishly.

Putting her hand over her eyes in hopes of stopping her eyebrow from twitching anymore, Noriko attempted to ignore L and focus on what was going on. She was currently sitting in the back seat of a beat up car on the bridge that led to the shut down sanitation plant. L was back in headquarters, Noriko had insisted that there was no need for him to come out into the open and everyone else had agreed. There was no need for him to be around when Light showed up, just in case. Mello was on the bridge several yards behind the car and was currently talking on a cellphone to who she believed was Matt who was below the bridge. He would be waiting for Noriko below the surface of the river, he would provide her with a can of oxygen when she jumped in to avoid actually getting killed in the blast that would rip apart the car she was sitting in.

Once she was in the water, the two would wait for Mello to join them before making their way upstream, with the help of a few underwater scooters that would allow them to travel much faster than if they were to just swim, to where Watari was waiting for them. The plan after Noriko jumped into the river was fairly simple, Mello would get the notebook, put it into a waterproof bag he had on him and with a few more explosions that were really nothing more than smoke bombs and a flash bomb or two, dive into the river.

The most important part of the entire plan was that no matter what they had to be sure that Light and his father were unable to follow them. That was why they were using the flash bombs, they would temporarily blind both people and by the time they would recover their sight the three of them would be long gone.

"This really does seem so simple, L. Are you sure this is going to work," Noriko asked seriously.

"The chance of this failing is small, only about seven percent."

"What's going to happen when they realize that there is no body? I know the explosion will be pretty big, but wouldn't there be something left?"

"Pieces possibly, but they would be scattered by the blast."

"That's kind of gross," she mumbled, grimacing at the thought of being torn to pieces by a fierce blast.

"The fact that there is no body won't be a problem I have had it set up so that the bridge will collapse. Even if the remains of the car were found in the rubble the fact there is no body wouldn't necessarily be odd. The currents are fairly strong and the river feeds into the ocean, it will be assumed whatever would have been left drifted out to sea," L explained.

"I don't know how you can say all that so casually. It freaks me out just thinking about it," Noriko replied.

"It's almost five, are you ready?" L asked.

Sighing, Noriko lifted her head from the seat and glanced in the rear view mirror. Since she needed to look as disheveled as possible, she had used make up to tint her cheeks pink and to make her face look dirty. Her hair was a mess too, but to complete the look she grabbed a bottle of eye drops and squeezed a few into her eyes to give the illusion that she had been crying. The trails left on her face looked believable enough to her and she shrugged. "I'm as ready as I'm ever gonna be."

"Just remember to stay calm and do as I say."

"I know. Hey, L? Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"When this is all over what's going to happen? I mean it's not like I can ever go back to living a normal life here in Japan, I'll be considered dead."

"That is Nori-san's decision," he answered.

"Yeah. What about you, what are you going to do," she inquired.

"Return to my life as L most likely."

"Oh," Noriko replied with a hint of disappointment in her voice. The thought of L disappearing from her life again was a very depressing thing to think about. She wasn't sure why, but it made her want to cry and beg him not to leave her again.

"Nori-san is welcome to join me if she would like."

She smiled at the thought. "We'll see," she replied softly, a small happy smile taking up residence on her face. When she realized this and just how right the idea of being with L seemed, she grew thoughtful. Her feelings for L were somewhat jumbled, she cared deeply for him and when he had died in her arms a part of her had also died with him. When he reappeared before her, alive and well she felt as if that part of her had come back. She had felt whole again and just being around him made her happy. She enjoyed every minute she spent with him and had no doubt that she always would.

"You're in love."

Jumping, Noriko glanced at her father who was lounging in the driver's seat of the car, smirking knowingly at her. "What are you talking about," she asked grumpily, shifting in her seat so that she wasn't facing him.

"Even through all of that make up I can tell," he replied.

"You're being weird now go away."

Pouting at his daughter that was scowling out the window of the car, Kiyoshi mumbled, "I just came to say break a leg."

Noriko snorted and rolled her eyes. "We're trying to avoid that actually."

"But I thought that was what you were supposed to say when an actor goes on stage," he replied in a quiet whine.

"I'm not an actor, Dad and the only thing this stage is for is for me to die and disappear from the lives of all my friends." Letting out a long breath, she looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap. "I'm a little sad that I won't get to say goodbye to Reiji or Lisa, I'll miss them and I know that my death won't be easy on them. Especially Reiji. I just hope that he'll be able to move on and that he won't blame himself in anyway for not persuading me to leave Light."

There was a short pause before L's voice echoed through the device in her ear. "Do you love him?" His voice was quiet, curious and slightly withdrawn.

Leaning her head back against the car seat, she stared down into the currents of the flowing river. She never even noticed that her dad had disappeared. "To be honest I don't really know."

"If things were different would you have gone back to Namikawa," L inquired.

"Yes. That was my plan actually. Things would have been different at first of course and we wouldn't have just started back up where we left off, but there is little doubt in my head that we would have eventually started dating again. I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear, but I'm not going to lie to you. I care very much about Reiji, you too. Even Light. It's a bit confusing to be honest, there's so much going on in my head that I really don't know how I feel right now. Maybe I loved Reiji and was too naïve to see it, maybe I was just clinging on to Light so much because he and I grew up together and he's been the only constant in my life. Maybe I'm even in love with you, L, but I really don't know. I need time to figure everything out and sort through all of my thoughts."

"I hear baking is good for thinking," L said.

"I am not baking for you," Noriko shot back.

"But Nori-san owes me a cake since the last one she tried to make ended up all over my head."

"That was your own fault," she protested.

"But we had a deal, Nori-san," he drawled. "You wouldn't go back on your word now would you?"

"Yes."

"Nori-san is mean."

"No, Nori-san is annoyed."

"With me?"

"No with the man sitting next to you."

"But there is no one sitting next to me. I'm alone."

"Then it must be you."

"Nori-san's annoyed with me?"

She half expected her eye to start twitching, but instead she found herself grinning like a little kid. "Yes."

"That's mean Nori-san," L mumbled like a scolded child.

"Would the two of you shut up," Mello interrupted angrily. "I'm sick of listening to you two."

"Then stop listening," L and Noriko answered.

"I would if I could, but I can't take this stupid helmet off!"

"Are we really that annoying?" Noriko mused.

"Yes," Mello snapped.

"That's not a very nice thing to say, Mello," she pouted. She took a glance out the back window to see the teen in his dark tinted helmet and instead of in dark clothes and leather he was wearing baggy jeans and a baggy red hoodie. He was currently leaning into the railing of the bridge, his arms folded tightly over his chest and Noriko had no doubt that he was scowling beneath the helmet he was wearing.

"Shut up!" Mello snapped.

"That is no way to speak to a woman, Mello," L scolded lazily.

Noriko snickered to herself when Mello could be heard growling at them.

"And you're supposed to be adults," he grumbled.

"That's enough guys," Matt's voice cut in before they could bicker any further. "I'm about to head into the water, I'll see you guys soon. Be careful."

The mood changed quickly after the interruption and not a minute after Matt announced that he was going into the river to wait for them, L informed them that one of the cameras that had been set up to allow him to keep watch over the area had just captured Light and his father approaching the area. They were about two miles away.

"L?" Noriko asked hesitantly.

"Hm?"

"Everything is going to be alright, right?"

"The probability of-"

"I don't want to hear about the probabilities," Noriko cut in roughly, her voice shaking when the strange foreboding feeling she had been feeling in her stomach since the day before returned. "I just want to be assured that everything will be fine. I know you like to analyze everything, but for once don't think about it and just tell me everything will fine. I need to hear it."

"Everything will be fine, Nori-san."

"Thank you," she sighed.

"They're here," Mello said.

Noriko remained silent as she shifted in her seat to stare out the back window of the car, it had been cracked slightly so that she could hear what was being said between Light, his father and Mello. It would also make it easier for her to be heard when she had to play her part and plead with Light and his father to not give up the notebook.

After parking the car they had arrived in just off the bridge, Light and Mr Yagami stepped out of the vehicle and approached Mello. Mr Yagami was carrying a suitcase with him that Noriko had little doubt contained the Death Note that they were trying to get a hold of.

Light's eyes traveled to the car sitting on the bridge and he almost broke into a run before Mello stepped away from the railing and pointed a gun at him while keeping his other hand in his sweater pocket.

"I wouldn't go any closer if I were you," Mello growled menacingly.

Bitterly looking over the masked Mello, Light stopped in his tracks and clenched his jaw. The gun that Mello had raised was still pointing squarely at his head.

"Here I go," Noriko said to herself, briefly closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. When she reopened them, she looked out the window and straight at Light. "Don't do this," she yelled frantically. "You can't give them the notebook, Light!"

"Shut up," Mello yelled, turning the gun on the car and firing a single shot that went through the back window and into the passenger seat. The window wound up with a small hole and hundreds of cracks that branched out from it, but it didn't shatter.

It took an immense amount of self control to not start screaming her head off at Mello. That little stunt had not been part of the plan. "I hope you don't mind, L, but I'm going to strangle that little blond emo kid when we get back to headquarters," Noriko said through clenched teeth. She let a satisfied smirk tilt her lips when she heard Mello grunt in annoyance.

"Mello is quite skilled with a gun, if he had wanted to hit you, he would have," L replied.

"Is that really the point," Noriko hissed, her hands fisting in her lap. "What if the damned window had shattered?!"

"The glass used for automobiles is not meant to shatter unless certain extreme conditions are met. Mello knows this. You were in no danger."

"I am so not baking you a cake now," she grumbled sourly.

"Noriko! Noriko are you alright?"

"I guess I should pay attention," she mumbled, turning to look out the window at Light again. It was hard to act scared when she was practically shaking with anger, but she tried anyways. "I-I'm fine."

"That was just a warning shot. I suggest you keep quiet," Mello snapped threateningly at her.

"There is no need for this violence, we have brought the notebook as you asked. Release Noriko," Mr Yagami spoke up authoritatively, holding up the briefcase in his right hand.

Mello snorted in disdain. "Not until I know it's the real thing."

"W-What," Mr Yagami stammered.

"I'm not an idiot you could have replaced the real notebook for a fake in hopes that I wouldn't notice until after you got the girl and were long gone. Sorry, but I'm not going to risk that. You want the girl, then prove that the book in that case is the real thing." He waved the gun that was still in his hand at the briefcase in Mr Yagami's hand. "In other words I want you to write a name in that notebook, if the person whose name I give you dies I will be notified immediately. If that person doesn't die then I will know that book is a fake and I will blow the little girl to smithereens. Got it?"

"You can't be serious," Mr Yagami shouted, clearly upset with the idea of having to use the notebook. "This notebook is the real thing! Why would I risk the life of my daughter in law!?"

Noriko jolted and felt a slight pang of guilt wash over her at the man's words. He just wanted to help her, to protect her. It was his job as a police officer after all.

"You can try to convince me that the notebook is real all you want, but until you prove it I have no intention of releasing the girl. Just to prove I'm serious when I said I'd kill her, why don't you take a look at that cardboard box by the car. There's a bomb inside of it. There are also a number of bombs placed on the car and if you take a good look, taped to different parts of the bridge."

Light's eyes widened when he took a good look around to see that it was true. The bridge had been rigged with explosives that were taped to the railings, to the light posts spaced throughout it and he had a sneaking suspicion that some of the trash and debris on the ground was more dangerous than it looked. His fists clenched at his sides and he found himself quickly losing his temper.

"You would go so far as to kill an innocent person to get your hands on the notebook," he shouted angrily. "L would never have done that!"

"L was weak. I'm not. Besides, knowing what that notebook can do makes one life seem meaningless in comparison. I'm through talking, prove that notebook is real or I start blowing this bridge to pieces," Mello growled.

"Don't do it," Noriko screamed. "Don't-"

She was cut off when the bomb in the cardboard box detonated. Screwing her eyes shut, she clamped her hands over her ears and reflexively huddled down into the backseat of the car. The noise was horrendous and she could feel the heat from the bomb collide with the car. Pieces of concrete smashed down on to the vehicle, but none did much damage, just left dents, scratches and a few pieces of smoldering debris scattered over it.

"Nori-san are you alright," L asked.

"Y-yeah, it just sort of scared me. I knew it was coming, but still," she replied with a small chuckle that quickly faded when she noticed that something didn't seem right. There was a weird creaking and groaning noise that seemed to echo through the air. "W-What is that?"

"It's just the bridge settling. I need you to assure Light that you're alright. Then I need you to move to the other side of the car," L instructed.

Noriko could hear Light calling her name, hear his father try to calm him down and keep him away from the vehicle and she knew she needed to play her part or everything would go horribly wrong. The groaning sound dimmed and ignoring the feeling that was stirring in the pit of her stomach, she forced herself sit up and look out the window through the smoke that still clung to the air to where Light was being held back by his father. "Light! Light, please don't-"

"Shut up," Mello screamed. "Take the notebook out of the case and write down the name I tell you to!"

"And if I refuse," Mr Yagami asked grimly.

"Then that girl will die," Mello answered blandly. "So decide now, kill her or kill a death row inmate. It's your choice."

"Noriko, listen carefully," L said to her. "I'm about to start setting off the other bombs, you need to be ready to get out of the car when I tell you to. You will have thirty seconds from when I say go to get out of the car and into the water before the car explodes. Do you understand?"

"I understand that this is a whole lot scarier than I had expected," she answered.

"Everything will be alright. Get ready."

Closing her eyes, Noriko took a deep breath and waited. She could hear Mr Yagami and Light arguing with Mello in the background. Pleading with him to let her go and promising that the notebook was the real thing. She could hear the frustration in Light's voice and knew that he probably wished he could take the notebook from his father and write Mello's name in it.

"I've had enough of this," Mello shouted and Noriko's eyes flew open, she let out the deep breath she had taken and put her hand on the handle of the car door. "You have ten seconds to prove the authenticity of that damned book or I'm going to kill her! Do you understand now? Either do as I say or watch that girl die and know you were responsible for it. Ten," Mello yelled. "Nine!"

Swallowing, Noriko blocked out the sounds of Light and his father and focused only on Mello's countdown, once he had reached one the bridge would turn into a war zone.

"Two!"

"Goodbye Light."

"One!"

Noriko cringed against the door of the car as bomb after bomb exploded on the bridge, smoke rose into the air with pieces of the bridge that was being ripped apart. She could hear someone yelling her name, but she ignored and waited for L's signal to leave the car.

"Something's wrong," she muttered suddenly. She screamed when the entire bridge began to shake and a deafening shriek rang out.

"Shit," Mello yelled. "The whole bridge is giving out!"

A loud groan filled the air and the bridge began to tilt, at first it was barely noticeable, but then the car began to slide towards the edge of the bridge.

"Get out of the car, Noriko," L shouted, startling her with the sudden note of urgency in his usually monotonous voice.

Fumbling with the door handle it took her a moment to get the door open, when she did, she practically tumbled out of it onto the concrete and into the smoke that made it hard to see more than a few feet in front of her. Lurching off the ground she tried to run to the railing, but lost her balance when the bridge lurched again. Stumbling, she collided roughly with the ground, biting back a scream of pain when her wrist took the brunt of the impact and she felt something snap. Tears blurred her vision, but she managed to get back on her feet in time to notice that the car she had just escaped from was sliding towards her.

"Get into the water, Noriko," L snapped. "You have less than fifteen seconds before the car explodes."

"Dammit," she mumbled. The railing was less than ten feet away, she just needed to get to it.

Another creaking groan and the bridge began to shake violently as bits and pieces of it started to break off and fall into the river. The portion she was on began to tip more and more as it threatened to break off completely. Noriko found herself stumbling again and her body slammed into the railing, causing her to cough violently. She ignored that pain that was shooting through her and the blood that had sprayed out of her mouth when she had coughed and prepared to leap over the railing just as the car behind her exploded.

The heat was immeasurable and the force that it was pushed through the air with was incredible. It tossed Noriko over the railing and hurtled her towards the river. Her back slammed into the surface of the cold water harshly, but none of it registered. Everything had gone black before she had hit the water.

* * *

Please review!

Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, fave'd, alerted, etc this story I really appreciate you all sticking with me and this story!


	43. Chapter 43 Another Beginning

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

**Chapter 43**

**Another Beginning  
**

There was no time to think, no time to do anything except for act. And that's exactly what Matt did. It didn't take a genius to know that something had gone horribly wrong on the bridge. The amount of debris falling into the river and the size of the chunks were enough to tell him that despite all the precautions they had taken to ensure Noriko's safety, they had failed. The bridge wasn't as sturdy as they had thought and now it was falling apart. Quickly.

When Noriko's body slammed through the surface of the disturbed waters of the river, Matt wasted no time in swimming to her side. Avoiding the falling debris proved rather difficult and he had no idea how none of it ever hit them, but he silently thanked the higher powers that it didn't. It wasn't all that easy to to get a breathing canister over Noriko's mouth since she was unconscious, but he managed and hauled her body through the water and to where the scooters where anchored and waiting a few yards away.

Given Noriko's state of unconsciousness, Matt wasn't sure he should wait for Mello to join them. The auburn haired girl needed medical attention, he wasn't sure what had happened and though he didn't see any external damage he wondered if there was internal damage and just how bad it may be. Preparing one of the scooters with one arm wrapped around Noriko's thin waist wasn't simple, he was having quite a bit of trouble actually and breathed in relief when Mello appeared beside him and helped him to turn the device on.

Without waiting for his blond haired friend who was now going to have to use the two remaining scooters, which he figured would be fairly interesting, Matt let the scooter pull he and Noriko down the river. Not wanting to keep Noriko under the surface for long, he lifted the both of them above the water's surface around a curve in the bed to be sure that there was no way they could be seen from the bridge. If it was even still standing at that point.

Pulling Noriko out of the water, he laid her down on the bank of the river and pulled a waterproof cellphone from his pocket. He didn't even have to do more than flip the phone open, an incoming call was making the caller id light up and the object to vibrate in his palm.

The phone barely made it to his ear before a voice poured through the speaker. "Matt, where is Noriko? Did she-"

"Calm down, L. Noriko's right here, but she is unconscious. I don't know what happened, but I can't take her down the river like this. We need to get her to a hospital asap," Matt cut in, leaning down to check that Noriko was in fact still breathing and had a pulse. She was breathing shallowly and her heart beat was weak, but she was still alive.

L sighed, a tired almost dead sound. "I'm afraid that's out of the question," he said monotonously.

Matt's green eyes widened at the statement. "But..She's.."

"I understand that Noriko has been injured, but you must understand that if we were to take her to a hospital now the entire point of our plan will have been meaningless. There will be no easy way to keep her survival a secret."

"That's true, but we can't just leave her like this," Matt pointed out, looking down at the pale face of the girl on the ground.

"I'm afraid I have no other option," L said before telling Matt his plans.

The copper haired boy could only listen with his eyes wide and his jaw hanging slightly agape, but when the speaking on the other end of the line finished, he frowned. He remained silent even though a part of him wanted to speak up and tell the world famous detective that this time he wasn't right, that he had other options then the one he had just told him. It would have done him no good though and he knew it, so he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Watari will be there shortly, please take care of Noriko until then," L said before the line went dead.

Matt sighed and frowned at the phone in his hand, snapping it shut and shoving it back into his pocket before turning around to see Mello clambering out of the river.

"Plans have changed, Mel," Matt told him grimly.

Pushing his blond hair from his face, Mello let his narrowed blue eyes meet the concerned gaze of his best friend. Having known each other for years, Mello could easily tell that something was bothering the copper headed game addict. "What's wrong?"

"Watari will be here shortly to get Noriko and take us back to the headquarters, after that we're on our own."

"On our own," Mello repeated in confusion.

"Yeah, 'fraid so."

* * *

"How bad?" L asked Watari as the old man examined Noriko.

The elderly man remained silent for a moment, but when he spoke again his voice was grim. "It's really hard to say. Her wrist is broken and there appears to be damage to her ribs as well as to her spine which I assume was caused when she fell into the water. Her back took the brunt of the impact. It's hard to say whether there is any internal damage or not without the proper equipment, I suggest we take her to a hospital."

"Then I suggest we get going."

Watari nodded in understanding. "I'll prepare for our departure immediately."

* * *

_~One Week Later~_

"This can't be happening," Light murmured, his eyes were distant and bruised from lack of sleep and his face was pale. He stood beside his father as if in a daze, his eyes staring ahead of him blankly.

"I'm so sorry, Light," his father offered quietly. The man put a hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a brief reassuring squeeze.

"None of this feels real. It's like a nightmare."

A soft wind brought the scent of rain and Light looked up at the cloudy sky, it would rain soon, but he thought it was fitting on such a sad day. It would be as if the skies themselves were weeping in response to the loss of the woman he had loved so dearly. Sighing emptily, Light let his dull brown eyes travel from the darkening sky to the white stone in front of him.

There were two names on that stone: Kiyoshi Mori and beside it Noriko Mori. Her name had been etched into the stone along with her birth and death date. The spot where Noriko's name had gone was supposed to have gone to her mother, but her mother had instead been buried with Katsuo. Knowing that the bond between Kiyoshi and Noriko had been strong, Light had decided to put Noriko's name with her father's. It was all he could do anyway, there was no body to cremate or bury.

His jaw clenched tightly and he lowered his head to hide not only the tears building up in his eyes, but the rage that was in them. He would find the person responsible for Noriko's death and he would make sure that they died the most painful death imaginable.

"We should go before it begins to rain," Mr Yagami suggested, glancing up into the rapidly darkening sky.

"Yeah, of course, sorry," Light replied distractedly.

"I know it's hard, Light, especially given the circumstances, but try not to dwell too much on it. Noriko is in a better place now and has been reunited with the father she loved so much. You may not think it possible, but you will go on to live a happy life without her. It's what she would have wanted."

Light didn't respond, he merely cast a last long glance at the stone which bore Noriko's name and followed after his father. 'I will avenge you. I promise, Noriko. The people who did this to you will be punished by Kira,' he thought.

Not once did he stop to think about how Noriko would feel should Light continue to kill for her or because of her. The fact that Noriko didn't agree with Kira's goals and actions was something he didn't bother to consider, he didn't see the point. She was dead and she had died by the hands of a criminal, a criminal that even she would agree deserved to be punished.

His face was tucked partially into the warmth of his coat and his eyes were hidden by his hair and he was so lost in his thoughts of revenge that he didn't notice the man and woman that walked by him.

* * *

"So it's true then? Noriko is really... she's really...dead." The voice that spoke was that of a female. It was shaky and full of sadness.

"It would seem so." Her companion replied.

She turned her head to look over at the black haired man and sniffled. He may not be crying like she was, but he was staring intently at the name on the tombstone she had knelt in front of. There was a sense of loss lingering in his dark eyes and his posture told her he wasn't as composed as he was trying to appear.

"I know she was a klutz, but to have fallen into the river? It doesn't make a lot of sense," the woman said quietly.

"No, it doesn't it," the man agreed.

"Mr. Namikawa," the woman questioned, her brows furrowing as she glanced back at the handsome man again. He was still not looking at her, but at the name on the stone and he appeared to be deep in thought. She frowned, she had had the sense that there was a deeper meaning behind his words.

"I'm sorry, Lisa, I'm not feeling very well, perhaps we should leave before the rain arrives," he suggested, tearing his eyes from the name on the stone and waiting for his assistant to rise before turning and leaving the cemetery.

* * *

It was a strange feeling. Noriko's body felt heavy, but at the same time it felt almost nonexistent. It was warm, she noticed, her brows furrowing in confusion when she tried to shift and get more comfortable in her bed only to find the bed she was in was much too small to allow her to move much. There was also the fact that her limbs felt like the were weighted down and were hard to move.

Squirming and groaning in discomfort due to her inability to move, Noriko tried to open her eyes, but they too felt like they were much too heavy. Confused about what was going on, but also too tired to question it, she attempted to go back to sleep. It was as she was lulling off that she felt someone poke her right arm. She ignored them and let sleep tug at her consciousness.

There was another poke, followed by another and then another. They were becoming more frequent now and she could feel her teeth clench and her brow begin to twitch.

Finally forcing her heavy eyelids to open, she smacked at the hand that was poking her, realizing with much confusion that it was not an easy thing for her to do.

"What?!" She snapped. Her eyes widened at the sound of her own voice, it was harsh and thick, as if she hadn't spoken in some time. A hand rose to her throat and her tired, gritty eyes noted that the hand was shaking badly.

Blinking and starting when a hand was laid over hers, Noriko looked up to meet the green eyes of her father. "D..Dad?" She asked, her voice a rough whisper.

"You're awake," he cooed enthusiastically, smiling brightly. "I'm so glad."

She would have pointed out that he had made it nearly impossible for her to do anything other than wake up with how he had been incessantly poking her, but she settled instead for glaring at him. When she noticed that she was in an unfamiliar room, her glare was replaced by a frown and her eyes roamed over the interior of the room.

It appeared to be a hospital room, but it was decorated in a way that it felt much more homey and less suffocating and boring. The walls weren't white, but a soft, sandy beige. There were several pictures hung about the room of what Noriko thought was a European countryside, because she was certain that she had never seen anything like the scenery in the photos in Japan. Wooden furniture gave the room a more homey feel and the wooden shutters over the windows made her feel like she were in an English manor instead of a hospital. It was pretty obvious however that she was in a hospital room. The monitors beeping around her, the I.V in her arm made that fact clear.

She also knew that she wasn't in any old hospital, never before

"Where...Where am I?" She asked, her head spinning when she attempted to sit up.

"You should try not to move too much," her father advised, ignoring her inquiry about just where they were.

Frown deepening, Noriko eyed her father skeptically. "Where are we?" She asked again.

"Are you feeling alright? Are you comfortable?"

"Dad."

"Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"Dad."

"How about some ice cream?"

"Dad," she growled tiredly, rolling her eyes wearily.

"Hm? Yes, dear," he asked while innocently blinking down at her.

"Where are we?" She repeated.

He blinked at her again, this time like her question had been asked out of nowhere and for no reason. "Isn't that obvious, dear? We're in a room."

If she could have lifted her arm with enough force, she would have punched her father. Not that it would have done her much good, he probably would have allowed her fist to pass right through him. She also figured that with the little strength she cold muster, it would do her little good to try and hit him, it's not like he would have noticed even if was solid when her fist connected.

"And where is this room?"

"In a building."

"And where is the building?"

"In a place."

"Where is that place?"

"Well would you look at the time," he chirped, glancing down at his watchless wrist before grinning back up at her. "You should really get some more rest, Nori, you'll never get to enjoy England if you don't heal quickly."

"Eng-" Noriko was cut off before she could ask what her father meant about enjoying England when a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over her. Before she could even register what was going on, her world had faded to black and she drifted into a deep unconsciousness.

Sighing, Kiyoshi plopped his chin into his palm and stared at his now sleeping daughter. She had lost several pounds in the past week and the bruises that she had received during the episode on the bridge were fading slowly. Her skin was riddled with yellow, black and blue marks that were very noticeable on her already pale and getting paler skinner.

"Sorry, kiddo, but I think it's best you get some rest. I know how stubborn you can be, but right now you need to heal. So sleep little one, until your body is well again."

The sound of the door caused Kiyoshi to look away from Noriko and behind himself to see the raven haired L slouching into the room, one hand in his pocket and the other scratching at his head.

"I thought I heard Noriko's voice," L explained, stepping up onto a chocolate brown armchair and lowering himself into a crouch. Not a moment later his thumb was resting on his lower lip as he chewed on the tip of the digit while his dark onyx eyes roamed over the sleeping body in the bed.

Kiyoshi sighed, turning his attention back to his daughter. "She woke up, but I didn't think it a good idea to let her stay that way. She needs as much rest as possible, but with how persistent and stubborn she is it wouldn't be long before she figured out where we are and what that means. She'd be furious, I hope you are aware of that."

L nodded, his eyes never leaving the face of the woman that had changed his life in many ways. "I am. Noriko will be angry, but I'm prepared for that. I had no other choice, her health and safety comes first."

Laughing quietly to himself, Kiyoshi smiled at the reply. "Maybe so, but she won't agree with that. She's such a stubborn child."

"Nori-san can be stubborn all she'd like. I have already made my decision."

Kiyoshi chuckled, but didn't speak again. Instead he kept his thoughts to himself. He figured there was no point in trying to warn L any further about Noriko's most likely reaction to the fact that they were in England and L in no way planned on letting her out of his sight. Ever. There was all also the fact that the Kira case had been essentially abandoned by him and that was where he figured things would go awry with Noriko.

* * *

For almost six months, Noriko was kept in an almost constant state of unconscious by her father and with the help of the drugs given to her to help with the pain and healing process.

She had lost a considerable amount of weight and had paled quite a bit, but she was still in decent health thanks to the superb medical attention she was receiving. Her injuries, which had consisted of several broken bones in her wrist and ribs as well as a some minor damage to her spinal cord due to the fall she had taken into the river were, healing nicely an it was doubtful that they would cause her any long term pain. She wasn't coming away completely unscathed, however, she had had burns ranging from minor to severe on her arms and fingers from having tried to shield herself from the intense heat of the bombs as she fell. They were healing nicely, but there would be some scarring along her forearms.

When her wounds had healed to a point that keeping her in a state of sleep would be rather unnecessary, her father finally let up on keeping her asleep and waited for her to awake on her own. It hadn't taken her long, only a matter of hours after he had stopped interfering, she had begun to stir.

At first, she just fidgeted in her bed, her brows furrowed and a frown on her face at the sensation of once again being able to fight her way out of the blackness that had claimed her entire being for almost half a year. When her eyes finally fluttered open, her green eyes looked around in confusion before landing on the man crouched in the chair beside her bed.

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it and smiled at the sight of L asleep in his usual crouch, his head resting crookedly on his knee. Unable to stop herself, she reached towards him and brushed a stray strand of hair out of his face. Her fingers lightly grazed his cool forehead and the messy haired detective started, his eyes snapping open as he instinctively backed away from the touch.

Noriko smiled wanly when L blinked over at her and laid her hand over her stomach. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she offered. "What are you doing sleeping like that in here anyway?"

"I was waiting for you to wake up," he replied tiredly, scratching lazily at his mane of unruly hair.

"And just how long have you been waiting?"

"This time only five weeks and three days."

Blinking at the answer, Noriko cocked her head to the side and asked. "How long have I been out altogether?"

"Five months, three weeks and six days," L answered automatically.

She blinked again. "Almost six months?"

L bobbed his head in reply and watched Noriko closely. Her face pulled into a frown and her eyes glazed over a bit as she stared down at her hands silently thinking to herself.

It was hard to believe that so much time had passed and if she was doing her math right, she had woken up in a completely different year. She was also recalling the few times she had woken up and the hazy conversations she had had with her father and L. There wasn't a lot she could remember, but with a quick glance up, her eyes came to rest on a photo of a beautiful green hillside.

"England," she murmured to herself. "Dad said something about England."

"Yes," L spoke up, grabbing Noriko's attention and locking his eyes with her bright green orbs when she turned to him in confusion. "We're no longer in Japan, we're in England."

"Why are we in England? Is the Kira case closed? What-"

"The Kira case is not closed. Though we know who is responsible for the crimes, we have no way of proving it or stopping him at this point."

Noriko's brow furrowed and she looked back down at her hands trying to comprehend what was going on. Her mind was still a bit fuzzy and it made it hard to think clearly. "I don't understand... If the case isn't finished then why are we in England?"

L sighed, he knew what was coming and he in no way looked forward to it. He had grown used to the peace quiet that had settled over the house and wasn't ready for that to be shattered by Noriko's shouting. Especially since she would be shouting at him and he couldn't very well ignore her when she was being that loud.

"We are in England because it was the best option at the time. You were seriously injured and needed medical attention, if we were to keep Light under the impression that you had died I couldn't risk taking you to a local hospital. Watari-"

"You flew me to England for medical attention?! Are you insane?! How are you supposed to get the notebooks if we're in England?!"

"Actually we flew you to China first. Watari knows a great doctor-"

"Does it matter where you flew me first? What happened with the Kira case?" Noriko demanded, ignoring the twitch of annoyance she could see in L's eyes from her having interrupted him two times in a row.

It didn't appear as if L wanted to answer her question and after a few seconds of silence, Noriko spoke up again. Her voice was quiet now, her eyes had lost some of their luster and she wouldn't look up at L. "You abandoned the case, didn't you? You left the world at the mercy of Light and his insatiable need to create his own perfect world for him to rule over like a God. Why? Why would you abandon the case after everything that's happened? You know what he's capable of and you know that he will never stop. I thought you hated to lose, L, so why would you willingly forfeit?"

He hadn't expected Noriko to be happy over his decision to leave Japan and to leave behind the Kira case, but he had come to learn that sometimes there were things more important than winning.

"I had no choice," he replied in answer to her multiple questions.

"That's a lie," she countered tersely. "You had several other choices. You could have had me treated in Japan, you could have taken me outside of Japan for treatment and then returned to Japan, but you didn't. You left Japan and left the world to deal with Kira on its own."

"Matt and Mello are still working on the case, but in their own way."

She turned her head to stare wide eyed at L. "You expect two teenage boys to finish a case that even you, the great L, couldn't solve," she asked, a hint of bitter sarcasm in her voice.

"Mello was in line to be my successor along with a few others should anything have ever happened to me. He's capable-"

"I don't give a damn what he's capable of, L," Noriko cut in, her eyes narrowing and her voice taking on a new, sharp edge. "You were the one that said you would catch Kira, that you would bring him to justice no matter what. You. Not Mello or Matt. You."

"Would it make you angry if I said that you're being extremely difficult?" L grumbled, turning his head away when Noriko glared at him.

"Why? I want an explanation and I think I deserve one seeing as how my dad has been keeping unconscious for the last few months."

"So you knew, hm?" A new voice asked embarrassedly, chuckling quietly.

Letting her eyes move from L's crouched figure to the figure behind him, Noriko scowled. "It's not hard to figure out seeing as how I feel perfectly fine. A little weaker than usual, but otherwise fine."

"Sorry, dear, but I didn't want you throwing a tantrum and hurting yourself," her father replied.

Noriko growled stubbornly and looked away with a soft grunt. "I'll show you a tantrum, I haven't even gotten started yet."

"Before you do that, why not hear what the young detective has to say, no?" Her father asked, grinning broadly at her.

Refusing to look at either one of them, she nodded stiffly and folded her arms over her chest. She listened intently to L speak and though he didn't say much, she found herself stuck between being angry and understanding. He had done what he thought was right by leaving Japan with her. He had wanted to protect her and to keep her out of Light's grasp and to do that he wanted her as far away from him as possible. England had seemed like the best answer at the time given the amount of contacts that both he and Watari had there. Not to mention all of the people that were at their disposal there would be able to make sure that no one ever knew Noriko was there.

She could understand his reasoning for leaving Japan and why he felt that it was the only way to protect her, but what made her angry was that he had only thought of her wellbeing. He hadn't considered the wellbeing of the families and friends that Light would destroy. It was this fact that upset her the most because with L no longer focusing on the case, there was no telling what would happen. Matt and Mello may have his trust, but even he had to know that the two of them would be no match for Light. They didn't know him the way they did, they had no idea what he was really capable of and the idea of the two boys fighting a battle against him made Noriko worry for them.

"It's not that I can't understand why we had to leave Japan, it's that you did it because of me. You should have stayed and continued to work on the case. The world needs you more than I do, L. You should be stopping Light, not sitting here with me," Noriko spoke up after L had finished explaining himself and they had fallen into silence.

"That wouldn't have been possible," he replied, causing her to look up from her hands and lock eyes with him. "I am no longer able to remain focused on the case."

"Why not?"

"I've become too distracted."

Noriko's eyes widened. She thought back to the day that L had told her she was a distraction, that her presence made it hard for him to think clearly on the case. It didn't take her long after that to recall him kissing her in the hallway and for her to flush in response to the memory. His few words explained everything and she finally fully understood his reasons for leaving Japan with her to keep her as far away from Light as possible. Though she realized what it meant, she refused to acknowledge it.

"I take it you understand now, Noriko," L said. "I can't focus on the case any longer because my feelings for you have become hard to ignore."

* * *

~A/N~

Hello again!

Sorry about the long wait. I got a bit distracted over the last little while. I spent most of the last two weeks trying to get back into school and finally succeeded in registering for classes on Friday night. Not even an hour after that I found out that I was being given a promotion. One that would make it difficult to go to school since I am now on call 24/7 and am in charge of the entire front desk operations at the hotel I work at. Needless to say, I've been doing a bit of juggling with my time to get prepared for my new position and try to go to school, unfortunately I had to drop my classes until the next semester. So sorry about the wait, but from here on out I'm going to try and update all of my stories once a month at least. This is on it's way to being completed with some help from Kotoko Kurasawa, thank you again by the way! I'd say there are at the most five chapters left of Of Death and Love. I promise to try my best to make them great!

Thank you, please review!


	44. Chapter 44 A New Proposal

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

So about that reallllyyyy loooonnnnggg wait.. Sorry... This chapter isn't the best ever, but it's a chapter and I tried my best.. I know what I want to happen and all, but I just can't seem to get it down. Anyways, expect only 2 more chapters. The final chapter is already in the works so I just need to get the next one done... So actually I guess there will probably be 3 more chapters total...

**Chapter 44**

**A New Proposal**

Scowling, Noriko turned her back on the black clad guard that now stood between her and the door and stomped back to her room. Plopping herself into the cushioned window seat, she stared with annoyance over the dreary looking day. It was raining out and the sky was a dark gray that was occasionally lit by thick bolts of lightning.

It had been an entire month since she had woken up and in that month she hadn't been allowed even an inch outside of the large manor she was living in with L, Watari and what seemed like more guards than were necessary. Her strength was returning very slowly thanks to the daily three hour long sessions of physical therapy she was forced to endure. Part of her thought that the reason for the lengthy sessions was to keep her occupied and to tire her out so she would be less likely to try and run off. Of course it hadn't stopped her from attempting to get out of the house on an almost daily basis, but every time she neared a door or tried to pry a window open one of the guards would show up and ruin her attempts at escape.

Her mood wasn't particularly kind and she found herself having to hunt down L who spent much of his time hunched up in front of a computer working on as many cases as he could get. Easy cases from agencies all over the world. He used the name Eraldo Coil to solve all of them since he couldn't very well use L while Light was posing as him in Japan. He was trying to stay as busy as possible in hopes that Noriko would leave him alone and not yell at him as she had been prone to do quite often in the past month.

Even her dad kept his distance from her, she had a habit of throwing the nearest object at him whenever he appeared and had broken numerous tea cups and dishes in her anger. The only person she talked to civilly was Watari and it was usually only when the older man was around that L and her dad would willing show their faces in hopes that perhaps she wouldn't have a temper tantrum while the kind elderly man was around. They were partially right, she didn't yell or throw things while Watari was around, instead she ignored their existence entirely.

After sulking for a good twenty minutes in her window seat, Noriko pushed herself up from the cushions and left the room. She wandered through the large house, peeking her head in each and every door until she found L hunched up on the floor of a bedroom with a plate of cookies and a cup of sugared tea beside him. Stepping into the room, she shut the door behind her and sat herself down in front of L, who stayed focused on his laptop while she stared at him.

"I want out of this house, L," Noriko told him tersely.

"Hm?" He looked up from biting into a cookie, crumbs dusting his chin while he innocently blinked at her.

She sighed and folded her arms over her chest. "You heard me. Don't play dumb with me, you're one of the smartest people alive. I'm not going to buy the dumb, innocent act. I want out. I need clothes, a hair cut and fresh air before I go in insane."

"No."

Noriko twitched at the immediate response. "I'll bake you a cake."

L's eyebrows rose slightly. "No. Nori-san can't change my mind. Until you're healed and until I know you won't try to run off, you're not leaving this house."

"How am I supposed to run off when you have me guarded by more people than you should be able to fit in this house? There are three guards in the hall by my room for crying out loud! And at least five outside of it! I can't even move without you knowing!"

L winced and cringed away from Noriko. "Nori-san is being loud," he grumbled.

Throwing her hands up in exasperation, Noriko stood up quickly with every intention of storming from the room. That was until her feet became entangled in the cords and she collided with L's laptop before falling on top of the detective himself.

"Ow," Noriko groaned, her eyes screwed shut and her face pulled into a grimace.

"Nori-san is heavy," L muttered.

"Oh, shut up," Noriko grumbled, trying to push herself off of L only to freeze when the door to the room opened and look up with wide eyes at Watari.

The older man blinked at the two people entangled together on the floor and blinked before smiling. "Am I interrupting something?"

"No."

"Yes."

Noriko glared down at L, she had managed to get herself onto her hands and push her body upwards. "I fell! Don't go making it sound like something it's not!"

"I'll just come back later," Watari said.

"Thank you, Watari," L replied as the man retreated from the room.

"What the hell?" Noriko snapped. "What are you trying to make him think we were doing?"

"You're being loud again," L complained, sticking a finger in his ear.

"I'm going to-" She was cut off when L's lips crashed onto hers, she gasped, her eyes widening as she tried to pull away only fall onto her side with an "Ouch."

"Were you saying something?" L asked, sitting upright again now that Noriko was no longer on top of him.

"Yes," she replied with a groan as she pushed herself up and rubbed at her elbow that had scraped against the carpet. "I was saying that I-" Once again L's lips met hers and with a few flails of her arms, Noriko managed to back up a few inches and distance them. "Would you stop that?" She snapped.

He thoughtfully mused over her question, ignoring her rather stormy glare. "No," he stated matter-of-factly after a few seconds of silence.

"I'm done talking to you," Noriko said blandly, beginning to stand up only to have L grab her hand and tug her back down. She jolted forward slightly and once again found L's lips against her own. If it weren't for the fact she was so ticked off, she might have enjoyed the feeling. His lips were surprisingly soft and warm, he also tasted like cookies which she didn't really mind. Living with him had made her sweet tooth go crazy, the house always smelled like cake or cookies or some kind of sweet and she couldn't help but to drool over it every time.

Realizing that while she sat around thinking about all of these things, L's lips were still firmly planted against her own, Noriko squealed and pushed L away. She tried to glare at the disheveled man, but judging by the amused smirk on his face, she wasn't being very intimidating.

"Do that one more time and I'm giving Watari a much needed day off and cooking you nothing but vegetables," Noriko threatened stubbornly.

"I have sweets stashed everywhere. Nori-san's threat doesn't scare me."

Noriko smirked. "You forget that you haven't let me out of this house since I woke up. I've had lots of time to explore and find all of those candy stashes. Did you think I didn't know there would be piles of candy hidden throughout a house you live in?"

L's eyes narrowed. "Nori-san is bluffing."

"Try me," she countered.

"Well at least you two are getting along again."

Twitching, Noriko grabbed a cookie from the plate she had knocked over in all of her flailing to get away from L and chucked it at the translucent face of her father, who ducked out of the way despite knowing it would have gone through him anyway.

"That wasn't very nice, sweetie," the man pouted.

"What do you want, dad," Noriko asked grumpily.

"Just to say you look oh so cute!" He squealed.

Twitching again, she reached for the nearest object, another cookie and sent it flying towards her dad. It exploded into a shower of crumbs against the wall when he moved his head aside.

"You're wasting perfectly good food, dear," he chided. "I thought I taught you better."

Taking a deep breath, she resisted the urge to throw anything else and scowled angrily at her dad. "I'm going back to my room," she said, standing up and heading for the door.

"Nori-san," L drawled. "You broke all of my cookies."

"So what?"

"Get me some more."

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"I asked nicely."

"No."

"Nori is mean."

"Thanks for dropping the san, but I'm still not getting you cookies."

"I'll let you go outside."

That stopped her in her tracks. Pausing by the door, she looked over shoulder and studied L suspiciously. "What's the catch?"

"You'll still have guards and Watari will be with you, but I'll agree to let you go shopping. If you try to run off though, you'll be brought back here and I won't let you out of my sight again. Ever."

"Pervert," Noriko mumbled. "But fine. I'll go get you cookies."

"And tea."

"That wasn't part of the deal," Noriko snapped.

"Does Nori want out of the house or not," L asked, his attention focused on his laptop.

Noriko was certain he was smirking like a kid in a candy shop, but chose to ignore that small fact and snorted in disdain before leaving to get tea and cookies.

* * *

"This is not what I expected when he said I'd be allowed to go shopping. It's embarrassing," Noriko mumbled.

She was walking besides Watari and they were surrounded by four guards. It didn't matter where Noriko went or what she needed to buy, they never left. Even when she went to try clothes on they posted themselves right outside of the dressing room.

It had to have been the quickest trip she had ever taken to a mall. The haircut was the longest, her short cut had grown out and deciding to keep it long, she just got a trim and some layers added in and had the highlights freshened up. She was thankful that no one really seemed to speak Japanese outside of Watari and a few of the guards. It made it easier to mumble curses under her breath whenever she felt particularly annoyed with L for subjecting her to the humiliation of being constantly surrounded by intimidating looking guards.

When the group returned to the manor, she had every intention of letting L know she was displeased, but she immediately noticed that something seemed to be wrong. He had been on the phone, holding up to his ear with his thumb and forefinger and he had a slight frown on his face. He had barely glanced at her before ending the call and shoving the phone back in his pocket.

"What happened," Noriko asked, not wanting L to try and steer the subject in another direction.

He scratched at his messy mane of black hair and rubbed his right foot against his left leg. It would have been comical if Noriko's heart wasn't beating furiously in her chest. The Kira case was something that hadn't really been discussed since the day she had woken up, as worried as she was about it, she knew that Mello and Matt, with L's help even from a such a distance would be okay. They were smart boys and she had promised herself she wouldn't let anything happen to them. She believed in herself and in them, there would be nothing at all to fear.

Light would be taken down and Kira would be defeated. The world wouldn't have to live in fear any longer after that. She was waiting for that day, impatiently, but waiting none the less. It was all she could do. Defeating Kira was going to take time, it wasn't something that could happen over night. Not with how smart Light was.

"L," she pressed.

He sighed. "I received a phone call from a contact in Japan that was looking after Matt and Mello."

"Are they alright?"

"They've disappeared."

Noriko blinked. "Disappeared?" She asked worriedly.

L nodded. "I don't think it's anything to be concerned about-"

"How could you think that? They're-"

"They're smarter than they look," L interrupted. "They have essentially been in charge of the investigation, but not officially. I've been working with them, but I can't be there with them and I was planning on having someone else who could move around more freely help them. Unfortunately, Mello wasn't happy with the person I had chosen. I expected this. They're both fine and they'll turn up when they feel like it."

Noriko frowned. "You're sure?"

L nodded.

She let out a long breath and smiled. "If you say so, then I won't worry."

Giving her a partial smile of his own, L watched Noriko skip off down the hall to her room, her bags jostling in her hands.

* * *

"Hey, you know I'm not going to eat you so you can stop hiding in a different room everyday," Noriko told L with a smile as she pushed the door open to the library to see L crouched on the couch with his laptop set up on a coffee table in front of him.

"What's that," L asked, looking up when Noriko pushed a serving cart in the room that looked very much like the one that Watari always loaded with his sweets. He was also certain he could smell strawberry angel food cake and his mouth was beginning to water.

Noriko grinned. "Thought you could use a snack."

He watched her suspiciously as she wheeled the cart into the room and began to put some of the treats onto a plate and pour a cup of tea into a cup mostly full of sugar.

"Stop looking at me like that. I didn't poison the food. Now drink your sugar." Noriko thrust the thick brownish tea in front of L's face.

He instinctively backed away from the tea cup and eyed it wearily.

"Just take it, I didn't do anything to it."

"But you put the sugar in the cup first," he pointed out.

"So?"

"You're supposed to put the sugar in the tea, not the tea in the sugar."

"Does it really matter? This way you don't spill everywhere and it's the same thing anyway. A bunch of sugar and hardly any tea. Drink it, eat it, whatever it is you do." The tea cup rattled in her hand as she pushed it closer to L.

With a childlike frown, L took the cup from her outstretched hand and took a sip. "It tastes funny."

Noriko rolled her eyes. "Just be quiet already. Here," she put the plate she had been stacking with sweets of all kinds on the table by L's laptop.

She then poured another cup of tea, put a few pastries on another plate and took a seat besides L. "So what are you working on? Anything I can help with," she offered, taking a sip of her tea and then a bite out of a raspberry filled pastry.

Slurping up some of his own tea, if it could still be called that, L made a face and set the cup down on the table. Picking up a macaroon, he tossed it into his mouth and chewed on it. "You should be resting, not helping."

"I rest a lot, I'm a little tired of resting. Besides, I can't really do much but support you and help you in anyway I can. I know that I can't do anything on my own to take Light down, but you can, even if you're not doing it very directly. I understand it can't be easy for you either, you're a pretty prideful person that doesn't like to lose. Yet, coming here to England and hiding from Light must feel like a pretty big defeat. I figure I should stop making things difficult and help, I won't accomplish anything by sulking or being angry at you. I believe in you guys, you, Mello and Matt and while I can't really help with much since I can't risk Light knowing I'm alive, I can still help in other ways. I'll be your cheerleader," she joked, grinning crookedly at L.

There was a short pause. "Will you wear one of the costumes?"

It took her a moment to process the words, but when she did, she grabbed the pillow from behind her and whacked L over the head with it. "Pervert!"

"I was only asking," L mumbled, pouting while biting on the tip of his thumb and staring at his laptop.

Noriko rolled her eyes and ignored the pouting detective, sipping her tea and watching him as he went back to work. Watching him work was fairly boring, especially since she wasn't doing anything but watching. After nearly an hour of silence, she began to nod off. Her physical therapy had been rather strenuous that day, there had been lots of exercises to strengthen her still weak back and in turn her legs and arms.

She tried to stay awake, but after awhile, she found herself leaning further and further to the side, closer and closer to L. When her head fell onto L's shoulder, she barely noticed and didn't move.

L blinked over at her, his hands freezing over his keyboard. For several seconds, he thought about what to do. In the end, he let Noriko remain the way she was and went back to work. What he hadn't expected was that the quiet, even rhythm of her breathing would lull him into sleep too.

Neither one expected to wake up a few hours later to see a picture of the two of them sleeping against one another prominently displayed on L's laptop, either.

* * *

It didn't take long for L to see that if Noriko was kept busy, she was less likely to stare off into space looking depressed and she spent less time questioning him relentlessly about the Kira case. There wasn't much to tell her about the Kira case anyway, there was nothing new. Kira was killing regularly and there were no mistakes being made, which meant there was no way to pinpoint Light as Kira.

In order to keep her occupied, he had begun to have her help him with the many cases that were pouring in for him to solve. Sometimes he had her work on them on her own, of course he checked her work carefully before sending his replies, but it kept her busy and gave her something to focus on.

As the months past though, she became more and more distant. She tried to stay happy, positive and calm, but she found it difficult when she knew what was going on in the rest of the world that she had more or less been locked away from.

L wasn't at all surprised when he began to notice Noriko withdrawing into herself, he knew he could only keep her preoccupied and distracted for so long. He just didn't know what to do now, he had no intention of letting her out of his sight, but he couldn't continue to keep her holed up in the house. She would only end up resenting him for essentially keeping her a prisoner.

"Tea?"

Noriko didn't even move from her position, leaning into the wall and hugging a pillow to her chest while she sat huddled in the window seat. It was raining out again and she was lost in the calming sounds of the drops pitter pattering against the glass. Her eyes were glossy and blank, hardly any emotion was readable in them. It was like she was an empty shell, a ghost of what she had once been like.

She jumped in surprise when a finger was pressed into her side. Blinking, she turned her head to look up at L who looked rather concerned as he frowned down at her.

"I had Watari bring some tea and snacks. You didn't eat breakfast this morning," L said.

Noriko blinked a few more times before looking behind L's slouched form to see a little cart had been pushed into her room. There was a pot of tea and several covered dishes.

"I'm not hungry," she stated monotonously, turning her head to stare outside once again.

He frowned at the barely responsive girl and scratched at his head. He wasn't really sure what to do or say and felt a little awkward. Sighing, he turned away from Noriko and put his hands in his pockets as he slouched towards the door. He paused a few feet from it and thoughtfully tilted his head. After several moments of thought, he turned around and walked back up to Noriko and poked her in the side.

She let out a tired sigh and swiveled her head around to look up at him. She didn't say anything and waited for L to tell her what it was that he wanted from her.

"Nori-san," he began, trailing off and frowning for moment.

Noriko tilted a brow at the disheveled detective. It had been awhile since he had called her Nori-san, he usually only did it when he was being playfully or was picking on her anymore. This time he didn't seem to be picking on her, nor did he seem to be in a particularly playful mood. He almost seemed confused as he frowned rather cutely out the window and scratched at the back of his neck.

"Yes," she pressed, interested in just what L was up to since he was acting a bit more odd than usual.

Glancing back into Noriko's eyes, L shifted his weight uncertainly and shoved his hands in his pockets. He then started staring at the ceiling as if anything was better than looking at her.

"Well," she pressed again, now thoroughly confused by L's behavior.

"Would you marry me?"

She blinked. And then blinked again, her jaw falling open in the process. "What?" She asked, she was entirely convinced she had him wrong. She had to have heard him wrong because there was just no way he had just proposed to her. None.

"Would Nori-san like to marry me?"

She blinked several times. "Why?"

L shrugged.

"I'm confused," Noriko conceded slowly, her brows knitting together.

"Usually," L mumbled.

Her eyebrow twitched. "No."

"No what?"

"I won't marry you."

"Why not?"

"Why should I," Noriko asked.

"Because you love me."

"Didn't I tell you once before not to decide that all on your own?"

L shrugged again. "But it's true. Nori-san is in love with me."

"Really?"

"Yes. You're cute when you're annoyed," L replied.

Noriko rolled her eyes. "I'm not in love with you."

"Really?" L questioned, sounding rather disappointed as a thoughtful pouty frown appeared on his face.

"Really."

"Hm. Well that's disappointing."

"Is it now," Noriko asked blandly.

"Yes, because I love Nori-san."

"Whatever," she sighed, turning away from L and closing her eyes. They snapped open a few seconds later and she nearly fell out of the window seat when she tried to turn back towards L. "What did you just say?"

"That I love Nori-san."

"You love me?"

"That's what I said."

"Are you serious?"

"I'm always serious."

"True... So that whole proposal thing... Was real?"

"You're slow, aren't you?" L asked teasingly.

"Shut up! You can't just ask out of the blue like that! You're supposed to prepare and stuff!"

"How?"

"I don't know!"

"You're being loud," L grumbled.

"And you're being impossible!" Noriko snapped. "If you're going to ask a girl to marry you then at least do it right!"

"Will you say yes?"

Noriko flushed bright red. "N-no."

"You're lying. If you're going to say yes anyways then why should I ask again?"

"I am not marrying you!"

"Yes you are," L replied matter of factly.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to go deciding things all on your own!"

"You can make all of the arrangements. I'll tell Watari to help you with whatever you need." He then began to saunter out of the room.

"I'm not marrying you," Noriko shouted after him, throwing the pillow she had been holding to her chest at the door and watching it with a scowl as it thunked into the door and then plopped onto the floor.

Frustrated and utterly dumbfounded by what had just happened, Noriko rose from the window and stomped after L. She caught up to him in the hall, he hadn't gotten far and she grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. He hummed and faced her with a bored expression.

"I am not-" She was cut off when L leaned forward and placed his lips over hers in a quick kiss. Swatting him away, Noriko scowled and stepped back. "I am not marrying you."

"I believe you are."

"No."

"Don't you love me?"

"I care very much about you, but I..." She trailed off when he stepped towards her and she instinctively stepped backwards. There was an odd look in his eyes, mischievous yet caring all at the same time and she realized that he was serious. "I'm going back to my room. Bye," she chirped, spinning around and running back into her room. Once there she tossed herself onto her bed and buried herself beneath the fluffy blankets. "This can't be happening," she mumbled into her pillow.

"Wait a minute," she muttered a few minutes later. Throwing the blankets off of her head she frowned at the ceiling. "Am I engaged?"

* * *

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	45. Chapter 45 Moving Forward

Disclaimer- I don't own Death Note

~A/N~ Hi... It's been awhile hasn't it? Well, sorry about that, I just couldn't seem to get my thoughts straight about where I wanted this story to go. I knew how I wanted to finish it, but I just couldn't seem to get there... Sooo I sort of just made stuff up. I time skipped a lot and paraphrased what happened in the few years that are lost.. It's not the best chapter ever, but I figured that since it's been almost a year since I've updated that it was better than nothing. I'm going to try and finish this up real soon too. I think it's about time. Sorry that it's lacking, but I'm really ready to just be done with this story...

**Chapter**

**Moving Forward**

November 17, 2008

"You are never touching me again! Ever!" Noriko screeched, her face red as beads of sweat rolled down her face and dropped onto her white and blue hospital gown.

L cringed from where he was crouched on a chair beside her, holding her hand. Actually she was holding his in a tight grip that he was afraid might break his fingers, it was one of the reasons why he hadn't tried to sneak out of the little room with the nurses and doctors working leisurely as if this was the most normal thing in the world. While it was natural, it seemed far from normal to him, but he wasn't a doctor and this was normal for them. He winced as Noriko cried out in pain, her head pushing back into the stack of pillows behind her.

"You're doing great, Noriko, just keep breathing and get ready to push," the doctor in his blue scrubs coached calmly.

L bit on his thumb, making the skin raw as he stared at Noriko's rounded belly. It was the least scary thing to look at in the room in his opinion.

"Ok, Noriko," the doctor spoke up. "Push."

Noriko did as she was instructed, her eyes clenching tightly shut and her teeth grinding together before she let out a pained groan like cry. L didn't know what he should be doing and settled for staying crouched in the chair and biting his thumb.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, holding Noriko's hand and staring at anything except for the doctor and the nurses as they worked, but when Noriko collapsed on to the bed and a baby's cry fillde the room he blinked himself back to reality. He stared at the small child in the nurse's arms as she carried it carefully to a waiting table where she gently wiped the baby clean before wrapping her in a little pink blanket.

"A girl," he muttered to himself, his eyes on the small jostling bundle in the nurse's arms as she brought the bundle to Noriko.

Noriko hummed tiredly and smiled blearily at the little bundle as she took their baby girl into her arms. "She's beautiful," she said, kissing the child's head and running a finger over her tiny hand.

L blinked at the little girl. Child birth was really quite frightening to witness, but the results amazed him. Unfolding himself from his chair, he hunched over Noriko to get a closer look at his daughter. The little girl reached a tiny hand for him and weakly tugged at his unruly hair. She was so small and fragile looking that he was afraid to touch her, but that didn't stop him from letting her take one of his fingers in her hand. He ran his thumb over the small knuckles and found it hard to believe that such a tiny little thing had been given life by he and Noriko.

"Sit down next to me so you can hold your daughter," Noriko told him.

He sunk don't next to her without a word and let her delicately place the bundle that was their child in his arms. He could only stare at her in amazement while Noriko leaned into him with a content smile.

Leaning against L, Noriko let her fingertips caress the short, soft black hair on top of her daughter's head. "Saki. I think she's a Saki."

* * *

October 8, 2009

"Matt and Mello have just kidnapped the director of the NPA."

Noriko stopped rocking herself and Saki in the rocking chair she had had placed in nursery and looked up at L with wide eyes. "What?"

"Near has no proof that it was them, but it's something that Mello would do. He believes they've finally started to act."

Standing up with her sleeping daughter in her arms, Noriko carefully placed the little girl into her crib before following L out of the room. A young woman with blond hair pulled into a neat ponytail was walking down the hall towards them, Noriko smiled at her. "I've just laid her down, she was asleep. I'll check in on her in a little while."

"Of course, Ms. Noriko," the young woman replied, smiling and nodding her understanding.

"Thank you." The young woman had been hired to help Noriko care for the little girl they had named Saki since it was rather overwhelming for her to do on her own and she still occasionally helped with cases. Hurrying after L, Noriko followed him into what she called his office since it was where he worked. High tech computer monitors lined one wall and two chairs sat beneath a built in desk top just below them. Making sure the door was closed before she spoke, Noriko finally asked, "What's going on? Matt and Mello kidnapped the director of the NPA? Why?"

"Probably because they're trying to get the Death Note that's still in Mr. Yagami's possession," he answered, sitting in one of the chairs and bringing his feet up so he could assume his usual crouched position. Spinning himself towards the monitors, he typed something quickly on a keyboard and the monitor in front of him lit up.

"They know that Mr. Yagami has it though, why kidnap the director? It doesn't make mush sense," Noriko said, taking a seat herself.

L shrugged a shoulder noncommittally. "It's possible it's not even them. It's also possible that Mello is just trying to get a reaction from the current task force that's headed by Light who is posing as me."

"He knows Near is working on the case now too. From what you've told me about how well they got along I'm going to go out on a limb here and say he's trying to find a way to beat Near and solve the case first."

"It's likely," L agreed.

Noriko sighed and relaxed into her seat. "Well, despite the circumstances it would be nice to know that Mello and Matt are alright. I may not have known them long, but they seemed like good enough kids. Do we know where they are?"

Shaking his head, L absently nibbled on his thumb. "No," he mumbled over the digit.

"They're playing a very dangerous game. The director is nothing to Light, he's not an important player in the game he's playing as Kira. Mello won't get the Death Note by threatening him. He'd have been better off kidnapping someone Light would never kill and there are few of those people left," she said with a forlorn shake of her own head. "The director will be dead within the next few days if he's not already."

"I agree. There are plenty of people to take his place and several of those would be beneficial to Light seeing as how he's acting as L and Kira at the same time. He needs someone who won't suspect him and continue to let him work on the case despite the fact they've gotten no results."

Noriko sat silently in her seat for a few moments, staring at her the man she had married almost three years before. He hadn't changed much, he still wore the same baggy jeans and white shirts. His hair was still as unruly as always and his skin just as pale as when she had first met him. The only thing that had really noticeably changed were the shadows beneath his eyes. They had faded away almost entirely, they made reappearances now and then when he was working a particularly grueling case, but otherwise she had rarely seen them.

Even she hadn't changed much. Child birth had made her a little more plump than she had been in years, but most of the weight had disappeared in the year since she had had Saki. She was a bit taller, her hair was shorter than it had ever been in the past with short layers in the back and longer ones in the front to frame her face. She was in better shape than she had been when she had left Japan, her muscles were toned and lean, a result of not only working out, but getting instruction in many different fighting styles. She also knew how to handle a gun now, quite well in fact. Learning to fight and protect herself had been something L had been very insistent she do. Especially since she was too stubborn to let anyone else look out for her and she had a bad habit of trying to do things all on her own.

She supposed she couldn't really blame him for worrying about her, he loved her and she had tried to escape his clutches when he had kept her under lock and key in the manor they had lived in when first coming to England. The inability to do anything to stop Light and being forced to stay uninvolved had taken a toll on her and she had found it hard to not blame herself for what he was doing and what she had been unable to stop.

Deciding to take things into her own hands she had spent days watching the guards and learning their routines. She also poked around the manor to see what she could use to aid her in her escape. She had stumbled upon new identification cards and a credit card with her picture on them. They had left her first name alone and had only changed her last name from Mori to Hanimura.

She had managed to make it to the airport, but by the time she got there L and Watari had of course already figured out she was gone and were waiting for her outside of the terminal, L inside a sleek black car. It was late at night and the airport was still bustling with people coming and going, but she had seen the two men before the taxi she had hailed even stopped. She thought about telling him to just keep going, but she didn't. When the car had stopped, she had stepped out and pulled the backpack she had brought with her onto her back. She had every intention of ignoring Watari who smiled at her as she glanced at him, but she barely made it five feet before four men circled her and blocked her from going anywhere.

She had gotten into the car with L willingly enough, but had refused to speak to him throughout the entire time they were in the car. When they had reached the manor once again, she had gotten out and stalked back to her room. After throwing her bag into the corner and collapsing onto her bed, she had had no desire to see or speak to L or anyone else for that matter. She had stayed in her bed for the rest of the night and didn't leave her room until the following night when she had ventured out for some tea because she was having a hard time sleeping. All she could think about was the look in L's eyes when she had gotten into the car, he had looked relieved and a bit sad all at the same time. He had also tried to say something to her when she had left the car in a rush, but she hadn't listened though she thought she heard him sigh and whisper that he loved her and was sorry.

* * *

_Her mind wouldn't quiet down. It was as if there were hundreds of voices in her head all talking at once. It made sleep impossible, so she settled for staring up at the ceiling while she tried to sort through all of the voices and their conflicting opinions and advice. _

_It was exhausting trying to figure out how she felt. She cared about L, but did she love him? She had loved Light, did she still? And Kira, did she really have the heart to expose Light and to see that he paid for his crimes? They had grown up together, shared their first kiss together, could she live with herself if she helped sentence him to death? Would she ever be able to face his family? His mother, his father and his sister that had all loved her as if she were a part of their family, could she do that to them? What about L? Would he understand the dilemma she found herself in? Would he still love her if she betrayed her childhood friend, her first love? She wasn't sure even she would be able to look at herself again, she would understand if he couldn't either._

_With a tired huff, she pulled a pillow over her face in hopes that she could smother her thoughts or at least quiet them enough so that she could sleep. After only a few minutes, however, it became too difficult to breathe under the pillow and she threw it off of herself with an annoyed grunt. A glance at her clock told her it was almost 3am. _

_Knowing that sleep was unlikely, she tossed her covers off and got out of bed. Sliding her feet into a pair of soft black slippers, she shuffled out of her room. Her feet took her to the kitchen where she made herself a pot of green tea that she nearly spilled all over herself when L slouched unexpectedly through the door as she was lifting the kettle off the stove. _

_L lifted a brow at her look of surprise, but didn't say anything as he wandered over to take a seat at a little round table with two chairs. Noriko joined him a moment later, setting a cup of steaming tea in front of him as well as a spoon and a bowl of sugar cubes she had found in the cupboard. _

_She took a seat in the other chair at the table and sipped at her tea. She watched L drop sugar cube after sugar cube into his tea and shook her head at him. "I still don't understand how you can consume as much sugar and sweets as you do and you're skinny as a rail."_

"_I burn a lot of calories thinking," he replied, dropping a sugar cube onto his tongue and biting into it. _

_Noriko snorted. "By your logic I should be as thin as paper considering that my head won't shut up," she grumbled. _

_Silence fell again, Noriko sipped absently at her tea while staring at the table top and L stared at her. Her eyes were bloodshot and she had bags forming under her eyes. It was obvious she hadn't been able to sleep and that she was exhausted._

"_Am I any different from Light?" She asked softly, her eyes still staring blankly at the table top. "I mean... He's responsible for so much death and I... I haven't done anything to stop him. I'm allowing him to keep killing people and doing nothing." Tears leaked unnoticed from her eyes, leaving shiny trails on her cheeks to mark their paths. "I don't know what to do or even where to start. I want to stop what he's doing and I want him to atone for everything he's done, but... I know what that means and it makes me feel like I'm betraying him... His family... I feel every bit like the murderer he is, I-" She sucked in a breath when L stood suddenly, his chair scraping against the floor. She looked up at the dark eyed detective as he slouched over her. _

_His face hovered a few inches above Noriko's and he frowned at the tears spilling from her eyes. Letting his forehead lightly collide with Noriko's he looked into her green eyes and tried to think of something to say. He didn't think she was anything like Light, he didn't think she was a murderer and he certainly didn't think she was betraying anyone. She was doing what was right. How to put that into words that didn't sound falsely reassuring was beyond him. "So am I murderer, too? And Watari, is he?"_

_Noriko was taken aback by the suggestion and she shook her head. "No, of course n-"_

"_But we've been unable to stop Light and he's still able to kill people because of our inability to catch him. What you just said would imply that we're murderers too. As for his family... We'll try to spare them as much of the truth as we can. They shouldn't have to suffer for his mistakes. If all goes well we may be able to apprehend him in secret and handle everything secretly."_

"_That's nice, but I would still know that I took Light from them-"_

"_Light has taken many people away from their families," L pointed out._

"_I am not Light!" Noriko shouted, looking away with her jaw clenched after her emotional outburst._

"_Exactly. You are not Light and you are not like him. You're idea of justice and his are not the same, you are doing what is right while he is acting as if he's a god and judging those he has no right to judge. You are not betraying him or his family by trying to stop him and seeing that he pays for his crimes."_

"_People are dying because I can't stop him. So many people have lost their lives and I can't do anything. I can't protect them, I can't protect anyone!"_

"_You protected me," L reminded her evenly. "And Watari. You also protected the Yotsuba group. That's-"_

"_That's nothing compared to the number of people Light is responsible for murdering while I sit around here and do nothing but look out of a window or complain about how helpless I am. I may not have killed them myself, but it feels like it's my fault just the same."_

"_Is that why you tried to leave? To stop him?"_

_She looked away, the answer was obvious enough in her opinion._

"_You're an idiot." _

_Noriko blinked up at L uncertainly. "What?"_

"_If you truly believe you're at fault for the deaths of the people Light has killed, you're an idiot."_

_She bristled angrily. "I am not an idiot. I'm-"_

"_An idiot."_

"_No-"_

"_Yes. What would you have done when you got to Japan? Gone straight to Light and demand he stop what he's doing? It wouldn't have worked. It would just make faking your death mean nothing because you would have walked right back to the person you were trying to escape. He wouldn't let you leave again and you know it. You wouldn't have been able to stop him. You would have just sacrificed your own life just to try something that was bound to fail."_

"_And how do you know?" Noriko cried, tears still leaking from her eyes. She paused to brush them angrily away and the pause allowed L to speak again. _

"_Genius, remember?" L pointed up at his face with a pale finger to emphasis his point. _

"_More like an ass," Noriko snapped, standing up from her seat. "I'm going back to bed." She was walking to the door when arms wrapped around her from behind and froze her in place. Her eyes widened and she sucked in a shaky breath. L's arms were warm, comforting and she found herself leaning into his chest and grasping onto him to steady herself. "I know it must sound stupid, but it's so hard to not be doing something to stop Light. At the same time though, it's hard to work towards stopping him because I'm afraid of what will happen to him then. We grew up together.. We've been best friends forever and I feel like I'm going to be responsible for his death because I don't see him giving up willingly and I don't see the world's governments wanting to let him live. It makes it hard to look at myself, knowing I'm going to destroy someone I cared about, someone I loved... But he's destroying lives, he's tearing families apart and making people afraid to even tell a lie because they're afraid Kira will kill them."_

"_Nori-san is not alone. You have me."_

_She nodded, wiping tears from her eyes and turning around to hug L and bury her head in his neck. "You won't leave again?" Being in his arms was nice, secure. She realized how much she had really missed him when she had thought he was dead and she realized that the thought of him not being there with her made her heart ache. _

"_Will you?" _

_She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No... But you can't keep me locked up like this L, I'm going to go crazy. I need to do something, I need to know that this will end."_

"_We're not working on the Kira case."_

"_What? But-"_

"_Neither one of us can objectively look at the case any longer."_

_That had been the beginning for them. Their lives had changed after that and while it was difficult for Noriko to try and make a new life for herself while Light was still destroying so many others, she managed to begin moving on. She had begun to help out at the orphanage that L, Matt and Mello had all grown up at and had enjoyed spending time with the children there that were all so incredible in their own ways. _

_It was the Halloween of that year, 2006, also L's birthday that she had finally agreed to marry L. They were attending a party for the orphanage's residents that Noriko had helped to organize, Noriko had actually dragged him with her to the event. She spent the evening playing games with the kids, dancing, laughing and just enjoying life again for one of the first times in a long time. At the end of the night a large white frosted cake was brought out and the happy birthday song sung to L, who was by now looking rather pouty about having to remain in the presence of so many people. His face had brightened when he had seen the cake and Noriko was almost certain he had begun to drool, but that could have just been her imagination. _

_It was a simple vanilla cake that she and several of the young kids had baked together that morning. L had blown out the candles and was impatiently waiting for a piece of the cake that Noriko was cutting. When she handed him a piece of the cake, she had also given him a quick kiss on the cheek while wishing him a happy birthday. Some of the kids had giggled, but she shot them fake glares and they quieted while she handed out cake to everyone. The final piece she took for herself after making sure that everyone who wanted cake had gotten some. _

_L was by now hunched up in a chair and had finished his cake and was looking rather pathetically at his empty plate. With a sigh, she had held her piece out to him. He had looked at the cake and then up at her. _

"_It's alright, it's your birthday after all so take it."_

"_Nori-san?" He had drawled._

"_What?" _

"_Will you marry me now?"_

_She had blinked at him in surprise and when she noticed that the room had gone silent and several bright pairs of eyes were on her she had felt her cheeks burn. "Um..."_

"_Ms. Nori, you should say yes!" A young girl declared, she was six years old with bright blue eyes and beautiful golden hair. She was quite attached to Noriko who had been the first person to get the young girl to speak and smile after weeks of prodding. She ran up to Noriko, little hands clasping one of hers and tugging on it with a grin. "You are gonna say yes, right?"_

"_Um..."_

"_Say yes, Ms. Nori!" Another child shouted. _

_The shout was followed by cheers and urges to say yes to the proposal._

_Looking back down at L, Noriko stared into his eyes for a few seconds before shaking her head. A grin broke out onto her face and she laughed, her white angel wings she had worn bouncing on her back. "Well, I guess I have no choice. Yes, I will marry you, but first..." She trailed off and smirked wickedly before shoving her cake into L's face with a satisfying squishing sound. When the paper plate fell to the floor followed by a few globs of cakes, Noriko smirked at L's surprised face and leaned down so only he would be able to hear her. "You are in so much trouble for this."_

"_But you'll still marry me?"_

"_Oh, I'll marry you, but keep in mind that that means you are stuck with me for the rest of your life. All of it."_

"_Isn't that the point?" L grumbled, gathering some of the frosting from his face with a finger and popping the finger in his mouth. _

_Noriko grinned. "Yes, but I think you forget how annoying I can be."_

"_Mm. No, I haven't forgotten. I'm well aware that you are incredibly annoying."_

"_Then why marry me?"_

"_Because I love you for some reason."_

_She tweaked a brow. "I know the feeling. I still have no idea how I fell in love with you, or when, but I did because marrying you sounds like a great idea and makes me happy."_

"_Does that mean you'll bake me a cake since the last piece ended up on my face?"_

"_Maybe, or maybe I'll start learning how to cook nice, healthy meals so I can be sure my dear husband to be is well feed."_

"_I'd rather you learned how to make cake," L grumbled, grimacing at the idea of eating healthy._

* * *

Noriko sighed and shook her head to bring herself back to the present. "I know you've been overseeing the case, but this is the first time in a long time you felt the need to include me. Why is that?"

L fidgeted in his seat, but didn't look at her which made her frown at his back. "You're having the dreams again, aren't you?"

Her jaw clenched and her teeth ground together, she forced herself to relax and swallowed. "Yeah, I've been having dreams again."

"Do you remember them?"

She sighed and sunk into her chair. "No. It's like when this whole Kira business started. I can't remember the dreams at all. Why?"

"The other night you were dreaming and you called out Mello's name. You were crying."

Cringing at the idea of what that could have meant, Noriko closed her eyes. "You're worried he's going to get found out?"

"I'm worried that despite how smart he is, he'll let his emotions control him and will do something rash."

"What do you want me to do?" Noriko asked, she knew he wouldn't have involved her if he wasn't worried something was going to happen that she could help prevent.

Her powers had been all but useless to her since her faked death almost actually killed her, but she could still sense that she could use her abilities as a Protector to help others, she had told L this, but she had also told him that she had a feeling they would be more effective if she was closer to whomever it was she was trying to help. Her reasoning had come from how she could sense the Death Notes and their power. When in Japan and the notebook had been close, she had sensed it clear as day, but now being in England it felt like the notebook was buried beneath a ton of sand. Often times the feeling was so small that she forgot the notebooks even existed. It made her believe that in order for her to stop the power in the notebooks from doing as it was instructed she had to be either near the notebook itself or the person who was being targeted.

"... Nothing."

Frowning, she nodded and stood up. Walking to him, she kissed the top of his head and squeezed his shoulders. "I'm going to go check on Saki before going to Wammy's, I'm supposed to help decorate for Halloween tonight while the kids are asleep." Walking to the door, she paused and looked back over her shoulder at L, he looked tense and for the first time in a long time she felt the need to be a part of bringing the reign of Kira to an end. She chose not to voice that thought out loud though and settled for smiling wanly at her husband's back before leaving the room.

* * *

October 17, 2009

"He what?" Noriko shouted, nearly falling out of her chair in her surprise. "Why didn't you tell me?"

L grimaced at Noriko's raised voice. "I didn't tell you because I knew you would be upset."

Noriko scoffed. "Of course I'd be upset! He kidnapped Sayu for crying out loud! She had nothing to do with any of this, she shouldn't have been involved." She released a heavy sigh and shook her head while rubbing at her temples. "So Mello has one of the Death Note's now? What does he plan on doing with it?"

".. Near's team has been almost entirely wiped out. Only a few of the agents remain."

"He... He killed the SPK members? He wants to beat Near so badly that he would murder innocent people?"

"It appears that way," L answered.

"I want to go to America," Noriko said suddenly.

"No," L countered immediately. "You're not-"

"Near needs help and with the way Mello is acting he needs some sense smacked into him and I'd be happy to be the one to do the smacking. Not to mention that Light probably feels humiliated and wants revenge, given his position in the task force I'm willing to bet they try to recover the notebook. If Matt or Mello are seen they're done for and you know it. I can stop that from happening. Besides, L, they may be good, but they're not you and they aren't Light. They, Matt, Mello and even Near, won't be able to beat them without some help. I know you're overseeing everything with Near, but-"

"You're not going. It's too dangerous," L cut in.

"So will you go?" Noriko asked harshly. "It's more dangerous for you to get directly involved than it is for me. We may both be dead in the eyes of everyone in Japan, but you can still be effected by the Death Notes while I cannot. Not only that you can't stop the Death Notes from working on their targets, I can."

"What about Saki?"

"Don't even start with that. I love Saki and I wouldn't leave her if I didn't think it was absolutely necessary and you know it. You and Saki are my life, but I refuse to sit around and watch people die if I know I could have helped them. I'm going," she insisted.

"..I'm not going to be able to change your mind, am I?" L inquired dejectedly.

"No. I'm assuming you can have Watari make all of the arrangements while I go make sure that Elizabeth will be able to stay with Saki until I get back?"

"Yes," L replied morosely.

"I'll be fine," Noriko assured him softly, scooting her chair closer to his. Turning him to face her, she took his face in her hands and kissed him gently. "I wouldn't get involved if I didn't think it was important. Besides if the task force is now aware of Wammy's House and the fact that Near and Mello were to be your successors, I'm going to assume that it's no longer safe for me to help out there. Someone will be coming to visit the place trying to get information on them and I can't be seen there. I'll go help out Near and then come home. I've got this feeling that I need to go and that everything will be over soon."

"I hope you're right."

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